River Park

In November 2023, the Los Angeles City Council approved Harvard-Westlake’s plan to transform Weddington Golf & Tennis into the Harvard-Westlake River Park. River Park will offer open space and athletic and recreational opportunities to both HW students and the Studio City community. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Studio City will preserve urban open space, reduce water use significantly by capturing, cleaning, and reusing stormwater runoff, reintroduce native plants, trees, and animal life to this stretch of the Los Angeles River, and create recreational and athletic facilities for Harvard-Westlake and the community alike.

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Harvard-Westlake River Park Looking Southwest

Pocket Park

River Park Gym Overhead

River Park Gym Looking Northeast

River Park Gym Looking Northwest

River Park Gym & Central Plaza

River Park Gym Main Lobby

River Park Gym Upstairs Hallway

River Park Gym Weight Room

River Park Gym Competition Court

River Park Gym Auxiliary Court

River Park Clubhouse Cafe

River Park Central Plaza and Aquatics Facility

River Park Aquatics Facility

Field A

Site Plan

Site map showing open space, fields, pool, tennis courts, clubhouse, parking and paths.

Sustainability

River Park includes a system that will capture, clean, and reuse stormwater run-off, saving hundreds of thousands of gallons of water each year. As the first private system to treat neighborhood run-off at this scale in the City of Los Angeles, it is an example of Harvard–Westlake’s commitment to developing an environmentally responsible project. The River Park plan calls for the removal of roughly 250 non-native trees and the addition of 350 native trees, a net addition of over 100 trees to the site. Over time, the new trees will sequester more carbon than the trees that are currently on the site, will offer more shade, will increase biodiversity, and will provide habitat to a wider range of birdlife and wildlife than the trees that are currently on the site do.

The River Park gymnasium building will include a substantial solar array and will be built to the LEED Silver standard.

Community benefits of River Park include:

Six-acre public open space featuring plazas, wooded areas, trails, and seating areas.
Public access to new, state-of-the-art athletic facilities.
Continued public enjoyment of tennis facilities.
Public access to clubhouse, cafe, and putting green.
Abundant underground parking.
Public walking & jogging trails.
Stormwater capture and re-use.

Community Partners

Angel City Sports

Angel City Sports provides free year-round adaptive sports opportunities for kids, adults, and veterans with physical disabilities or visual impairments. In addition to providing free equipment, coaching, and competitive opportunities, this nonprofit organization helps individuals reach their full athletic and personal potential and unlock their dreams through music, art, higher education, and career opportunities.

How we’ll work together: River Park will be the “Valley Home of Angel City Sports” and will host adaptive sports programs including wheelchair basketball, wheelchair tennis, track and field, sitting volleyball, table tennis, swimming, goalball, blind soccer, judo, wheelchair fencing, and amputee soccer. Angel City Sports will also provide hands-on educational experiences for Harvard-Westlake students, faculty, and staff to learn about and experience Paralympic sports and volunteer with the organization.

Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians

Prior to the founding of Mission San Fernando in 1797, ancestors of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians (FTBMI) lived in villages across northern Los Angeles County. The land now occupied by Harvard-Westlake in Studio City was essential to the trade, intermarriage, economic, social, and cultural relations with the neighboring villages from which the tribe descends. In the 1840s, the FTBMI received land grants of over 18,000 acres (10% of the San Fernando Valley), two of which are located within three miles of the River Park site.

How we’ll work together: The school and the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians (FTBMI) will collaborate to develop and install educational monuments calling attention to the history and culture of the tribe’s ancestors who lived at and near River Park. Tribal historians will collaborate with Harvard-Westlake students and faculty to conduct original research into aspects of indigenous life in the area that have not yet been fully documented. The school and the FTBMI will also partner with other community organizations to deliver educational programs at River Park to local schoolchildren.

Friends of the LA River

FoLAR builds capacity for communities, students, and future leaders to advocate for nature, climate, and equity on the Los Angeles River.

How we’ll work together: River Park will serve as FoLAR’s Valley home, welcoming thousands of elementary and middle school students from across Los Angeles to the site for field trips each year. FoLAR will lead tours of the park and environmental education sessions in an on-site classroom. The organization will also run a fellows program at River Park to train high school students for careers in the environmental field.

Special Olympics of Southern California

Special Olympics transforms lives through the joy of sport, every day, everywhere. Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organization for people with intellectual disabilities, with 4.4 million athletes in 170 countries—and millions more volunteers and supporters. Through the power of sports, people with intellectual disabilities discover new strengths and abilities, skills, and success. The athletes find joy, confidence, and fulfillment—on the playing field and in life. They also inspire people in their communities and elsewhere to open their hearts to a wider world of human talents and potential.

How we’ll work together: Building upon its longstanding relationship with Harvard-Westlake, Special Olympics will host upcoming events at River Park with Harvard-Westlake student volunteers.

USTA Southern California

As part of its partnership with USTA Southern California, River Park’s eight tennis courts will host USTA instructional programs, adult and junior teams and tournaments, social and cardio tennis, and coaching development programs.