With the help of families of children with disabilities and the LA Kings, the city approved designs for its first all-abilities playground.
REDONDO BEACH, CA — The Redondo Beach City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved designs for the city’s first all-abilities playground at Franklin Park.
Council members praised the all-inclusive design of the playground, which is anticipated to be open in the summer of 2026.
“This is, I think, exceeding my expectations for this, and it is beautiful,” Council Member Paige Kaluderovic, who pushed for the playground’s creation, said.
Council Member Brad Waller echoed the sentiment, saying he appreciates “having an all-inclusive playground in Redondo Beach.”
“I think it's something that can help set us apart,” Waller said.
The project was initially funded for the 2024-2025 fiscal year’s budget at $500,000, Community Services Director Elizabeth Hause said.
However, with a $75,000 donation from the LA Kings Foundation and a $99,000 grant from GameTime and the California Park and Recreation Society, the project’s estimated cost dropped to $315,000, according to Hause.
“‘Under budget.’ How often do we hear that for a project and grant money at that? So bravo,” Council Member Zein Obagi said.
Obagi went on to confirm with city staff that the original funding for the project was not from discretionary funds but rather through Quimby funds.
“Quimby funds are specifically designated for enhancing open space, and they're funded by new development fees that are collected when people build in the city,” he said.
For the park’s design, Hause said city staff discussed it over several months with a working group of parents and grandparents with children and grandchildren who have varying degrees of abilities.
Staff also worked with “playologist, somebody that could walk us through what we need to do in that space to really accommodate the needs of children with varying abilities,” Hause said.
“It's not a very big space,” Hause said of the playground, where staff had 2,400 square feet to work with.
Given the small space, there were some limitations, Hause said; however, “we're actually able to include almost all of the amenities that the working group wanted to include in this space.”
Some of the amenities on the unitary structure will include ramping, rocker, climbers, spinners, sensory boards and some auditory play spaces, like chimes, Hause said.
To commemorate the LA Kings Foundation’s donation, Hause said the structure will also include “an interactive scavenger hunt around the plate area and includes crowns and the paw print, which stands for their mascot, Bailey.”