City of Santa Barbara overhauls Vera Cruz Park with new renovation project

Santa Barbara’s Vera Cruz Park is swinging in a new direction. The Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation Department plans to overhaul the downtown park by renovating its community building, adding a new entrance and upgrading the outdoor grounds. “The hope is that it is able to serve the surrounding community not as a regional destination, but as the kind of space where you can go just to sit on the grass and relax, take your dog for a walk, meet up with friends and have a picnic,” said Jazmin LeBlanc, the Parks and Recreation assistant director. The News-Press first reported in June that the city doesn’t plan to renew the lease of the current user of the site, the Santa Barbara Trapeze company, past April 2027. Vera Cruz Park’s transformation comes as the surrounding community becomes a more commercial and residential area, LeBlanc said. Across from the park, the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara opened Vera Cruz Village at 116 East Cota Street in August 2023,