Construction on first phase of Harbor Park, on the Chula Vista bayfront, to start next month

The reimagining of Chula Vista’s shoreline continues as the Port of San Diego prepares to introduce new public amenities designed to enhance the waterfront expanse opposite the glistening Gaylord resort.

Tuesday, the Board of Port Commissioners for the San Diego Unified Port District took the steps required to start the first phase of construction for the Harbor Park Uplands Improvements project.

The initial $15-million project will introduce a playground, splash pad, picnic areas and new landscaping on the lot between H Street and Sandpiper Way, just south of the newly opened Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center.

The board voted unanimously to allocate an additional $2 million to the project, approve playground planning documents and authorize staff to enter into a $10.5-million construction contract with BNBuilders. With the actions, the agency said construction on the playground will start in March. Work on the splash pad is expected to begin after the board signs off on the planning documents in April. The entirety of the phase-one improvements are expected to be completed in a year.

“Right now it’s an empty dirt lot and it’s across the street from a billion-dollar resort that, by the way, has been very successful so far,” said Commissioner Ann Moore, who is chair of the board and represents the city of Chula Vista. “I think it’s really important that we actually put investment into this dirt lot to transform it into something that I...