LA city officials celebrate reopening of Pan Pacific Park playground

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavksy were among those celebrating the reopening of a playground Thursday at Pan Pacific Park, which was destroyed in a fire last year.

Children from some local Fifth District schools attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The reopening of the playground was made possible in part by a $236,000 donation to the Los Angeles Parks Foundation from Television City, a production facility owned and operated by Hackman Capital Partners.

“What you see here today is an example of public and private sectors coming together to get something done for our city,” Bass said during the Thursday morning ceremony

The donation was used to repair the damage caused by the July 2022 fire at the park, at 7600 Beverly Blvd., near The Grove. The Los Angeles Fire Department could not confirm at the time how the fire started, but reports indicate it was set by a homeless individual.

Television City’s funds were used to build an ADA-accessible playground, which includes a spiral slide, tilted rock wall and tic-tac-toe panel.

“People forget this, but right across the street just south of us is the largest community of renters this side of the Mississippi,” Yaroslavsky said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “And many more families in the nearby Fairfax neighborhood, Beverly Grove, Mid-Wilshire neighborhoods, where I live also rent, and we don’t have backyards necessarily for our kids to play in.”

Carolyn Ramsay, executive director of the parks foundation, previously expressed her gratitude toward Television City and Hackman Capital Partners for its donation because “park playground plays a vital role in connecting a community.”

“Parks and playgrounds help kids learn balance, coordination, dexterity and social skills while having fun,” she added. “It is crucial that community parks and playgrounds be as accessible and inclusive as possible, providing a place for children and adults to be active and enjoy time outdoors.”

Ramsay also participated in the event along with Michael Hackman, CEO of Hackman Capital Partners; David Nickroll, chair of the parks foundation; and Jimmy Kim, general manager of the city’s Department of Recreation and Parks.