At a county workshop in March 2023, people who use Livorna Park described the play area in very specific terms. They talked about caregivers showing up with blankets, snacks and highchairs. They called it the only park within walking distance for that part of Alamo, and they said nannies and au pairs with children use it heavily. The county's notes point out that these were individual comments, not a group consensus. Still, they show who the park serves. One more comment from that meeting bears on the news now: residents were worried about closures and said they'd prefer a short one.
Three and a half years later, the rebuild finally has prices attached. The project covers the park at 2615 Miranda Ave. On October 14, 2026, Contra Costa County Public Works opened four bids to renovate it. Every bid came in well above the architect's estimate. They also all came in under the budget the Board of Supervisors approved in April. So the big unanswered question for the families at that playground is when, not how much.
What Alamo Asked For in 2023
The county's Livorna Park Revitalization FAQ says Public Works and Special Districts first raised the need to renovate in March 2022. The FAQ describes the park as nearly 30 years old. It also says the play structure had reached the end of its life and the play area and restroom needed major repairs. Next came two surveys and two special park meetings. Notices went up at the park, and for the second survey a postcard went to every residence in Alamo.
In August 2023, the Alamo Municipal Advisory Council held a meeting at the park itself. Its October 10, 2023 recommendation letter set five priorities.
- A water feature
- Shade over the playground
- More parking
- Poured-in-place play surfacing
- New accessible play equipment
The council members' budget suggestions ran from $1.5 million to $3.3 million.
The meetings in May 2024 were more contentious. According to the county's notes from the May 7 and May 15 sessions, people disagreed about pickleball, a full basketball court, parking, tree removal, where the pavilion should go, and noise. In the same notes, the budget under discussion had grown to $3 million to $4 million.
What the Board Approved in April
On April 27, 2026, the Board of Supervisors approved the Livorna Park Renovation Project and authorized advertising for bids, with an estimated project cost of $4,000,000. Comparing the approved scope with the 2023 list shows which requests made it in and how fully.
| What Alamo MAC prioritized in 2023 | What the April 2026 scope includes |
|---|---|
| Water feature | A new water play and mister area, with its own water treatment tanks and mechanical equipment |
| Playground shade | Shade sails, shade structures and umbrellas around the play area |
| New accessible play equipment | Replacement of the existing 8,400-square-foot playground, plus ADA upgrades to restrooms and furnishings |
| More parking | About two added parking stalls |
| Poured-in-place surfacing | The Board report doesn't specify play surfacing |
Shade and the water feature, the top two items, are fully in the plan. Parking, a big topic in 2024, comes to about two stalls.
The scope also expands the basketball court from 2,538 square feet to full size by adding about 3,074 square feet and two concrete retaining walls of roughly four feet each. The plan repairs the bocce court and adds perimeter paving to the pavilion. A new custom metal arbor replaces the old trellis at the main entrance, and new walkways, lighting, fencing, drinking fountains and bike racks fill out the list. Pickleball, one of the 2024 sticking points, is not in the scope.
The tree plan will probably change how the park looks more than anything else. About 15 landscape trees will come out, three of them Coast Live Oaks, along with 7,500 square feet of shrubs. About 58 trees and 12,500 square feet of native, drought-tolerant plantings will go in, plus bioretention planters and swales for stormwater. Stantec Consulting Services drew the bid set, which was issued September 4, 2026.
The bocce court has its own history. It opened in 2017 as two lanes with shade, tables and seating, available first come, first served. DanvilleSanRamon.com reported at the time that Measure WW paid about $817,000 for it, including planning, design and management. Some 2023 workshop comments said the court rarely got used, and the new plan repairs it rather than replacing it.
What October's Bids Said About Price
Here are the bid opening results from October 14, measured against an architect's base bid estimate of $2,520,000.
| Bidder | Base bid | Over the $2.52M estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Frontline General Engineering Construction, Inc. | $3,483,268.68 | about 38% |
| Kerex Engineering, Inc. | $3,900,000.00 | about 55% |
| Interstate Grading & Paving, Inc. | $3,924,324.25 | about 56% |
| JUV, Inc. | $3,971,991.30 | about 58% |
The low bid is $963,268.68 above the architect's number. That's a big miss in percentage terms, but the four bidders are close together. The spread between the lowest and highest bids is under $500,000, so the market priced the drawings above the estimate rather than one contractor coming in unusually high.
The $4 million figure from April changes how this reads. The Board approved $4 million as the estimated cost of the whole project, and even the highest base bid falls under it. The county's bid notice says the contract will be awarded on the base bid alone. Each bidder also priced two alternates. Frontline's came to $163,034.16 and $125,688.85, and the alternates aren't part of how the low bidder is chosen.
Why the Money Is Alamo's Own
The whole $4 million comes from one source, County Service Area R-7, the special district for Alamo. The county's FAQ explains that R-7 is supported by Alamo residents and businesses, pays for park maintenance, and can fund parks and recreation only inside its boundary. No countywide pot is absorbing the overage. The money is Alamo's own, and it can only be spent in Alamo.
The park started out the same way. The FAQ says the developer of Livorna Estates donated the land in place of a substantial park development fee, and R-7 funds then built the original park. In May 2024, meeting notes recorded about $6 million in the fund. That was a snapshot from a public meeting, not a current balance.
The Calendar Nobody Has Published Yet
The April Board report expected construction to start in August 2026 and last about 320 working days. The state's CEQA notice put the start in July. In practice, the prebid meeting happened September 28 and bids opened October 14, so both of those start dates have passed.
Three things are still open.
- Contract award. No contract has been awarded yet, and the Board's October 20 agenda had no Livorna award item.
- Construction. About 320 working days is more than 60 five-day weeks, before holidays or weather. Whenever work starts, it runs well past a year.
- Closure. The county hasn't announced whether the park will close completely, stay partly open, or be built in phases. Its Livorna Park Revitalization page is where updates are likely to show up.
That's why the closure concern people raised at the 2023 workshop matters more today than the price does. Families who walk to Livorna will need somewhere else to go for a stretch longer than a single school year.
Where to Play in the Meantime
Two other parks serve Alamo and the area right around it.
Hap Magee Ranch Park, on the Alamo–Danville line, has a children's play area, a playground, restrooms, picnic areas, lawns and trails, according to the Town of Danville's facility page. Its children's water feature runs April 1 through September 30 and closed for the winter on October 1, so it won't help much in the first months of Livorna construction.
Andrew H. Young Park is a one-acre community park with a play structure and picnic tables, according to the county's park flyer. It's smaller than Livorna, so it works best for a quick visit.
If your family uses Livorna Park and you want to know when the contract is awarded or the county posts closure dates, Ashley is following the county agendas and will share updates as they come. Reach out to her through Hector Mancera anytime. Let's Connect.