Contra Costa County is now taking bids to rebuild Livorna Park. Bids are due October 14, 2026, at 2 p.m., and they are based on a Stantec drawing set titled "Livorna Park Improvements, 2615 Miranda Ave, Alamo, CA 94507, Issue for Bid, 9/4/2026." The project replaces the 8,400-square-foot playground and adds shade sails, shade structures, umbrellas, drinking fountains, bike racks and a new water play and mister area. It also expands the basketball court to full size, repairs the bocce court, upgrades the restrooms to ADA standards and swaps the old trellis at the entrance for a custom metal arbor.
That list is the end of a process that started in March 2022, when County Public Works and Special Districts told Supervisor Candace Andersen's office that the park's facilities were wearing out. Over the next three years the design grew, then shrank. Most of what was cut came out after objections from people who live along the park's edges. Livorna will come back as a better neighborhood park. It will not come back as a bigger event space.
Shade Was the Loudest Request, and It Survived Every Draft
The first round of public engagement, finalized by Stantec in August 2023, collected 271 online surveys. Respondents gave the park an average score of 50 out of 100 for having the facilities they wanted. In the open-ended answers, shade came up 82 times. Water features and drought-tolerant, colorful planting came next with 24 mentions each, followed by pickleball at 23, poured-in-place surfacing at 22 and parking at 21.
Shade had more than three times the mentions of any other request, and it is the clearest win in the bid set. Shade sails, shade structures and umbrellas all appear in the 2026 project description.
The same survey asked what people liked most about the park as it is. The playground led with 92 mentions, then open grass with 79, convenience and location with 50, concerts and movies with 44, and walking paths with 43. Those answers worked as a list of things to protect, and they explain where most of the later fights came from. Any new feature had to fit on a 4.37-acre site that was designed in 1994 without taking away the lawn and the quiet that people already valued.
How the Requests Changed on the Way to the Bid Set
The Alamo Municipal Advisory Council sent its recommendation in October 2023 under Chair Sharon Burke. It put a splash pad, playground shade, more parking, poured-in-place surfacing and a replaced or reused play structure at the top of the list. A full basketball court with pickleball was listed as a secondary improvement. Here is how each of those requests ended up.
| Feature | Early request or draft | 2026 bid design |
|---|---|---|
| Water play | A splash pad was the MAC's first priority in October 2023 | A water play and mister area |
| Pavilion | The December 2024 draft showed an enlarged event pavilion with sound and lighting | The existing pavilion stays, with perimeter paving and its benches and railings removed |
| Court | A full court with pickleball was listed as a secondary option | The basketball court expands to full size, and pickleball is not in the court program |
| Parking | The MAC asked Public Works to look at the maximum possible additional parking | About two new stalls |
| Trees | The December 2024 review sheet showed 102 new trees and four removals | About 58 new trees, with about 15 removed, three of them coast live oaks |
Every row moves toward a smaller footprint except the basketball court. The county's public meeting records show how that happened.
The Pavilion Stays Where It Is
A preliminary proposal on the MAC's September 3, 2024 agenda would have moved the pavilion toward Easy Street and added amphitheater-style seating for concerts and movies. The plan put more music and more people closer to the houses on the park's edge, and those neighbors had already spoken. At the May 7, 2024 review, the posted comment tally showed four dislikes and one like for the pavilion idea. Comments cited noise, traffic, lost trees and how close the pavilion would be to homes. Some residents asked the county to limit events or move the concerts to Hap Magee Ranch Park. County staff answered that there had been no concert complaints for several years.
On May 14, 2024, Sebastian Sheldon started a petition titled "Preserve Livorna Park!" It opposed expanded amenities, pickleball, a larger court, moving the pavilion, more events and tree removals. The December 2024 draft still showed an enlarged event pavilion with a sound system and lighting. Neighbor Sarah Camenson was among the speakers at that review. She raised noise and asked about planting along Easy Street.
By the March 4, 2025 masterplan, the expansion had been dropped. The plan kept the existing pavilion, removed its rear railing and added paving around it to create more usable space, and called for no other pavilion work. The same plan still describes the park as hosting three to four summer concerts or movies a year. The concerts are staying at Livorna, in the same place they have always been.
The Court Got Bigger. Pickleball Didn't Make It.
Pickleball split residents from the start. The 2023 engagement report counted 23 requests for it and found roughly equal opposition, mostly over noise. At the May 2024 meetings, the basketball court proposal drew eight dislikes and one like. Neighbors objected to both pickleball and a larger court, while other speakers wanted a full court for kids and basketball players.
The December 2024 MAC record shows "Full Court Basketball – YES." The March 2025 masterplan specified a 50-by-84-foot, high-school-size court with a sound-dampening planting screen, and its written program did not include pickleball. The same document notes that the current court still carries old full-court tennis striping, although its tennis net disappeared some time ago. In the 2026 bid version, about 3,074 square feet are added to the existing 2,538-square-foot half court, held in place by two retaining walls about four feet tall.
A Splash Pad That Became a Mister
Water play was a top priority for the MAC in 2023. The December 2024 draft offered three misters and a water wall instead, and MAC members said that was not a "real" splash pad. The council's record from that meeting notes a 4–3 split on the splash pad question. The March 2025 masterplan says the MAC asked for a small splash pad in place of the water wall and misters, and that cost engineering then reduced its size.
The 2026 environmental filing describes a "water play/mister area" served by new water treatment tanks and mechanical equipment. The final layout is in the bid drawings, which only registered planroom users can download. Families hoping for a full splash pad should wait for the built version before deciding how the water feature compares.
Fewer New Trees Than the Draft Promised
Trees are the one place where the final plan goes further than neighbors asked. Petition supporters and meeting commenters opposed removals, and the MAC asked the county to keep the front lawns and take the new trees out of the event space. The December 2024 review sheet called for 102 new trees and four removals. The April 2026 environmental filing lists about 15 removals, including three coast live oaks, and about 58 new native, drought-tolerant trees, plus 12,500 square feet of new shrub planting in place of 7,500 square feet that comes out. The public summary doesn't say what caused the change. The bid drawings will show exactly which trees come down.
Parking went the same way as the pavilion. The MAC first asked Public Works to explore as much added parking as possible, and meeting commenters objected to losing flowering trees for it. The March 2025 plan included four new spaces and one van-accessible space. The 2026 filing lists about two.
What the Calendar Looks Like From Here
- March 2022: Public Works flags the park's deteriorating facilities.
- August 2023: Stantec's first engagement report is finalized.
- October 10, 2023: The MAC sends its recommendation.
- May 7 and May 15, 2024: Community meetings on the preliminary plans are held in person and over Zoom.
- December 2024: The revised masterplan goes to MAC review.
- March 4, 2025: The updated masterplan drops the pavilion expansion.
- April 2, 2026: The county signs the environmental exemption notice.
- October 14, 2026: Construction bids are due.
The April filing expected work to start in July 2026 and last about 320 working days. Because bids are still open, that start date has passed without construction beginning. An undated county Public Works overview says work begins in fall 2026, interrupts the 2027 Summer Entertainment Series and reopens the park in December 2027. No contractor, closure date or confirmed reopening date has been announced. The county has not named a temporary venue for the concerts.
The concerts were funded as usual this year. On March 3, 2026, the Board of Supervisors approved up to $48,300 from County Service Area R-7 for the 2026 Alamo Summer Concert Series at Livorna Park. The series ran four Fridays in July with the Sun Kings, Fourjour, Highway Vagabonds and Fog City Swampers. R-7 also pays for the park's upkeep, and its money can only be spent inside Alamo's boundary. The fund dates back to the park's beginning, when the Livorna Estates developer donated the land instead of paying a large park development fee.
During construction, the closest substitute is Hap Magee Ranch Park at 1025 La Gonda Way in Danville. The Town of Danville lists a playground, water feature, dog park, picnic areas, restrooms and a sand volleyball court there. Questions about the Livorna schedule go to Supervisor Andersen's office at 925.655.2300.
If you own a home near Miranda Avenue and are planning a sale or a purchase around a park that could stay fenced off until late 2027, Jill Fusari can help you weigh the construction timeline against your own. Request a confidential home valuation to get started.
