Beyer Park

Image by Nehemiah / BuildSD.

A 43-acre undeveloped site off East Beyer Boulevard has been the site of multiple proposals for a community park dating all the way back to 1974, with community plans in 1990 and 2016 echoing San Ysidro's continued desire. Now, after decades of planning, the long-awaited park is finally taking shape, with construction on the first phase beginning in 2024. Once complete, Beyer Park will provide approximately eight acres of developed parkland along with 14 acres of restored native habitat, while much of the larger 43-acre site will remain undeveloped open space. It will be the first new public park in San Ysidro in more than 25 years.

The park was always envisioned as more than just a collection of recreational amenities. Early planning for the project had to respond to the site's steep terrain, biological resources, nearby habitat areas, and surrounding open space. A 2018 community presentation identified significant slopes, Moody Canyon, a Multi-Habitat Planning Area to the east, a fault line, and other environmental and geotechnical constraints as factors shaping the park's design. The result is a project that will combine active recreation with restored habitat and open space.

Beyer Park - General Development Plan

Beyer Park is being constructed in two major phases. The first phase includes several of the amenities that residents have been waiting decades for: a large children's play area with a rock-climbing wall, shaded picnic areas, basketball courts, a skate park, adult fitness equipment, walking paths, site lighting, public art, and on-site parking. It also includes 14 acres of habitat restoration.

Beyer Park Playground Plans

The second phase adds many of the park's larger recreational components, including multi-use turf fields with lighting, additional picnic areas, comfort stations, a dog park, walking trails, overflow parking, and site lighting.

Skate Park Photo by https://strayrocket.com/skateparks/california/beyer-park-skatepark

The two phases are part of a larger capital improvement effort that has been years in the making. The City's June 2026 budget discussion described both projects as underway, with the combined two-phase effort estimated at approximately $40.9 million. The project has been funded through a combination of local, state, and federal sources. Funding has included $1 million from the City's Citywide Park Development Impact Fee, $2.5 million in Community Development Block Grant funding, state park grant funding, and federal funding for the second phase.

Renderings by Ingram Ober and Marisol Rendón

Artists Ingram Ober and Marisol Rendón have created a site-specific installation titled Air Sanctuary for the park. The piece centers around a single Catalina Ironwood tree planted within a large sculptural enclosure. Rather than planting a collection of trees, the artists intentionally chose one tree that visitors can watch grow and change over time. The enclosure is designed to visually relate to the growth of the tree and the volume of air processed by it over time. The proposed structure is approximately 25 feet tall, with a 12-foot diameter at its base and a canopy extending roughly 30 feet in diameter. The idea is to make something that is normally difficult to visualize-the environmental impact of a tree-something that people can actually experience.

Visitors will be able to watch the tree change with the seasons and, over time, form a relationship with this single living object. The artists hope that connection can create greater awareness of air quality, environmental issues, and eventually even inspire climate activism.

The artwork is also intended to illustrate the "breath" of the tree. A system of atomized water released around the tree is designed to relate to the time it takes the tree to respirate, while also helping to precipitate some heavier air pollutants.

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Further Reading: https://www.sandiego.gov/cip/project-info/project-profiles/beyer-park-project

https://www.insidesandiego.org/san-diego-kicks-construction-beyer-park-san-ysidro

https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/2018_04_09_community_meeting_4.pdf

https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/2024-08/print-1_beyer-park-poster.pdf