From splintering wooden skate ramps to a lack of outdoor exercise equipment, some of Balboa Park's amenities are in need of replacement and upgrades.
Now two neighbor-led groups are on the case with some outside help.
Friends of Balboa Park and Friends of Balboa Skatepark have spent the last two years advocating for, respectively, the addition of outdoor exercise equipment and a major renovation of the skatepark. However, struggles with financing and the loss of their fiscal sponsor, San Francisco Parks Alliance, had halted progress.
Lisa Dunseth
They’ve paired with SF Public Space Collective, an organization dedicated to the city’s public spaces, and Contina Impact, a fiscal sponsor offering pooled funding services for social impact projects.
To complete the projects, the groups need over $1.5 million, the majority for the skatepark, and are in need of both public and private investment.
Chris Campbell, an arborist and owner of CC Tree Design and one of the skatepark group’s founders, wants the park’s renovation to be part of his legacy as a place for all to enjoy for years to come.
“I've done a lot of greening and tree planting over my career, and I feel like that's an investment in our future generations,” Campbell said. “I feel like the park is as well. Just leaving it a better place than what we found it.”
Friends of Balboa Park aims to install outdoor exercise equipment and other improvements. | Anne Marie Kristoff/Ingleside Light
The groups first presented to the community in 2024 and continue to work closely with the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department. Although they have preliminary approval, fundraising has been slow. The loss of their fiscal sponsor, the San Francisco Parks Alliance, last year set them back nearly six months, Campbell said.
They have also applied for one small and one large grant through the Rec and Park’s Community Opportunity Fund, a competitive, community-led capital program funded by General Obligation Bonds, and have made it to the second phase of the application process.
One grant, which would be used for the skate park, could award up to $1.5 million, while the other, which would be used for the outdoor exercise equipment, could award up to $500,000.
“We appreciate the community-driven vision for Balboa Park and our staff has been in active conversation with the Friends of Balboa Park and Balboa Skate Park working groups as they develop their ideas,” Rec and Park spokesperson Tamara Aparton said. “We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively as these ideas evolve.”
Aparton said Rec and Park have provided guidance on feasibility and potential locations to the group. Though the projects are still in the planning and application phase, funding decisions are expected to be announced this summer. (The department recently completed a $815,000 project to upgrade the park’s four baseball fields.)
Balboa Park Skatepark needs significant repairs and improvements. | Anne Marie Kristoff/Ingleside Light
The grants would fund roughly two-thirds of the skatepark renovation and go toward refreshing the upper portion of the lot with benches, taking down the fences and redoing the wooden features.
Joel Cloarec, who skates at Portero del Sol Skatepark and Balboa Park Skatepark, is excited to see the skatepark's transformation.
“It'll be nice to have something in concrete so they don't have to restore it every other year because of the weather," Cloarec said. "If they have the funding, why not?"
Outside of the Community Opportunity Fund grant, the groups are also looking for funding from other public entities and the private sector and would need between $500,000 to $700,000 more to complete the park as they initially envisioned.
“That's our goal, and we're going to keep at it until we get there,” Campbell said.
