Modesto park upgrades in works for years. When will it reopen to public?
César E. Chavez Park, closed since November for a renovation project to offer more recreational offerings, is expected to reopen to the public by summer 2026.
Some of the amenities included in the project are a lighted basketball court, lighted skate plaza, exercise fitness area, aquatics center with a pool and recreational multipurpose rooms at Maddux Youth Center, among other amenities.
Nathan Houx, the city’s parks planning and development manager, said he believes the facilities could draw residents from across Stanislaus County. “The whole county really probably might come here and enjoy the day at the aquatic center,” he said. “[It’s] going to be a destination for people to go to in the summer, especially where they can go and, you know, have some fun with their kids, some entertainment and enjoy a day out at the water park.”
Houx also said that he’s received emails from skateboarders in Modesto excited to use the skate plaza when the park reopens.
Beyer Community Park in northeast Modesto is the only other park in the city that currently offers a skate plaza.
Hilmar-based contractor Harris Builders Inc. is handling the project’s construction. Project manager Craig Harris said construction began the same month that it closed to the public and he believes it will conclude around December or January 2026.
Over 80 trees have been removed from the park due to either being diseased or in the way of where other amenities will be located, he said.
Planning for the Chavez Park project jumpstarted in February 2020 when the city received an $8.5 million grant from the state. Modesto was one of 52 recipients of funding through the California Statewide Park Development and Community Grant Program. The program awarded a total of $254.9 million in grants to cities to create parks and recreational opportunities for marginalized communities in California.
The program was funded through Proposition 68, which authorized the state to issue $4 billion in bonds toward projects related to park improvements, flooding, water quality and environmental protection. Voters approved Proposition 68 in June 2018.
The city expected the project’s initial construction to be completed by spring 2022. But in 2022, it was clear that because of increased cost for goods and services “in a post-pandemic business climate,” the project’s cost would exceed the amount provided by the grant, according to a September 2024 agenda report.
To continue the Chavez Park project, funding received from the American Rescue Plan, Measure H, and Parks and Air Quality Capital Facilities Fees was reallocated. Additionally, other projects including Dr. Luther King Jr. Park renovations and a turf replacement for Mary E. Grogan Community Park soccer fields had their funding reapportioned to Chavez Park.
The project cost $17.1 million, with $14.1 million spent on its construction, according to the September 2024 agenda report.
“The community is going to be really excited about it, and they’re going to have the opportunity to really enjoy it with their families,” Houx said. “I think it’s going to be an awesome new amenity for Modesto.”
This story was originally published June 9, 2025 at 12:17 PM.