New City Park Opens On Historic Reservoir Site In Carlsbad

CARLSBAD, CA — The city of Carlsbad opened a new, three-acre park Friday at the site of the former Buena Vista Reservoir, ending a multi-year push by citizens to stop the parcel from being developed.

The new neighborhood park at 1605 Buena Vista Way, in north Carlsbad near Buena Vista Elementary School, features a children’s play area, loop trail around the perimeter and a historic water tank. It will be called Buena Vista Reservoir Park after the old reservoir.

The original water tank from the former Buena Vista Reservoir will anchor the park, which comes too with picnic benches and native landscaping.

The reservoir built in 1918 first supplied water to the surrounding farms and fields including local avocado orchards. The city acquired the site in 1952 and the reservoir stopped operating in the 1960s after Elm Reservoir was built and took over water supplies.

In 2014, the city staff proposed selling the property, likely to a housing developer. Neighbors opposed the sale and asked the City Council to instead consider a park. Eventually three civic groups and more than 100 people sounded off on creating the park, a city spokesperson told Patch on Friday.

Lennar Homes, a nationwide housing developer, built the park under agreements with the City Council. Park construction was a condition of its approval for a 123-home project near the intersection of Poinsettia Lane and El Camino Real.

The city will contribute up to $378,500 for park "construction contingencies", the spokesperson said.