FORT BRAGG, CA., 4/20/26 — After a decade of planning, Bainbridge Park’s grand reopening celebration began Saturday morning under clear, sunny skies. Funded in part by two Proposition 68 California State Parks grants, the long-awaited project brought together project partners, city officials and staff along with lots of community members to witness the reopening. Families gathered on the lawn as children played soccer on the newly constructed fields.
Harold Bainbridge III told the crowd that the park was named for his grandfather, Harold O. Bainbridge, who died in 1982. Bainbridge said his family has lived in the area for generations, and that the park was named in recognition of his grandfather’s commitment to the community. Harold O. Bainbridge dedicated two decades of public contributions to the City of Fort Bragg, serving on the city council and as mayor.
Fort Bragg Assistant Director of Engineering Chantelle O’Neal, the park’s project manager, said, “This project has been a long time coming — and by long, I mean 10 years of planning, design, community input, grant writing and construction. So, if you see me smiling today, it’s because this is the kind of moment every project manager dreams of.”
As she introduced the team and partners behind the renovation, O’Neal emphasized that the project was shaped by sustained community involvement.
“A project of this scale doesn’t happen because of one department or one grant,” she said. “It happens because the whole community shows up.”
O’Neal cited a series of public planning efforts, including 2016 master plan workshops, a pop-up playground, the voting program at Wiggly Giggly Park, and a January 2024 design workshop. She said hundreds of residents, families and children contributed ideas that helped guide the final design.
“I want to say your voices mattered,” O’Neal said. “They guided the design, the amenities and the priorities.”
O’Neal outlined the park’s new features, including a multiuse pavilion and stage designed for performances and community gatherings, two fenced soccer pitches, a new lighting control system and upgraded park lighting. The renovation also includes vibrantly colored poured-in-place rubber playground surfacing at Wiggly Piggly play area for accessibility and safety, landscaping and irrigation upgrades with native plantings and improvements to the existing restroom facilities.
Standing under the new pavilion, Amy Schmidt of ABS Builders, who, along with her husband Bill, served as the project’s contractors, basked in the crowd’s visible excitement at the new park. Schmidt said that their company worked through difficult field conditions and design refinements to complete the renovation.
After the formal ribbon-cutting, Schmidt told The Mendocino Voice that she and her husband have vacationed on the coast for years. Since last summer, the couple stayed in local campgrounds in order to work on-site while traveling back and forth to their home in Colusa.
“It was one year ago today that we turned in the bid for the park project,” Schmidt said. “We came here to camp for years. How fun would it be to spend the summer working in Fort Bragg? We really got to know this community at a deeper level.”
Schmidt highlighted design details throughout the park, including natural stones incorporated into a hopscotch feature, locally sourced wooden stumps for seating, repurposed logs placed throughout the grounds, and rocks used in landscaping that came from a nearby supplier. She said the project team made an effort to use local materials from coast businesses.
In one corner of the park, she noted a cluster of pebble-shaped seats designed as a small gathering space. Bill Schmidt described new restroom fixtures, a new drinking fountain and better drainage on the park’s fields, in addition to a new irrigation system.
The renovated park is now fully ADA-accessible, including the soccer fields, the Schmidts said. “I like the pavilion,” Bill Schmidt added as a band set up to perform for the gathering. “It’s the focal point of the park. It’s allowing for concerts and all kinds of community gatherings.”
O’Neal highlighted that more than $2 million in grant funding supported the renovation, calling it a major investment by the state of California and Fort Bragg’s recreation system.
Project partners included Melton Design Group, which served as landscape architect, and Lumos & Associates, which provided engineering support, materials testing and assistance navigating permit requirements. O’Neal said Lumos helped guide a full structural redesign of the soccer fields after new requirements emerged mid-construction. Paramount Signs and members of the Bainbridge family contributed to signage efforts.
O’Neal also credited local artisans for adding handcrafted elements throughout the park.
“Beyond the features, this project is really about what this space means for a community,” she said. “Bainbridge Park is now a multigenerational, accessible, inclusive place — a place where kids can play, teens can gather, adults can recreate and families can come together.”
“This is your park,” O’Neal finished. “And I hope you enjoy it for many years to come.”
Afterward, O’Neal said she was overwhelmed by the turnout and the community response. “Everyone here has smiles on their faces,” she said. “I’m on the verge of tears, seeing this come into fruition.”
Thanks for this great article, but I don’t think it ever states where the park is located or says anything about the neighborhood.