New $8.5 million park, set to open next year, breaks ground in Cathedral City

Cathedral City has officially started construction on a 7.5 acre park set to open in its Dream Homes neighborhood next year.

The city held a groundbreaking ceremony for Dream Homes Park on Wednesday morning with city staff, councilmembers and Coachella Valley Association of Governments representatives in attendance. The new park is located east of North Gene Autry Trail and north of the Home Depot shopping center on Ramon Road.

California State Parks awarded the city a $8.49 million grant in 2021 to finance the project. This funding is part of a program meant to help create parks in underserved areas like the Dream Homes neighborhood. It also provided funds for new parks in Coachella, Indio and Thermal.

The city has to finish construction by March 31, 2025 and open the park by June 30, 2025, according to a presentation by Director of Engineering/Public Works John Corella in 2022. Some components of the Dream Homes Park will be soccer fields, basketball courts, a large and small dog park, children's play areas, and shaded picnic and barbeque areas.

Mayor Mark Carnevale told The Desert Sun the park is going to be state of the art. The project had been in the works for 10 years since it was first proposed and will improve quality of life for residents, he said.

"We're very, very fortunate to have this coming in to Cathedral City," he said.

Ani Gasparyan covers the western Coachella Valley cities of Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City. Reach her at ani.gasparyan@desertsun.com.