City accepts $8M grant for Balboa Park Botanical Building

With money in the bank, the city of San Diego can now move forward on a long-planned renovation project for Balboa Park’s Botanical Building that should see the historic structure restored and improved by the summer of 2022.

On Tuesday, the City Council authorized acceptance of $8 million in award money, which is coming from California’s Department of Parks and Recreation local assistance grant program. Although a formality in the process, the council’s action puts in motion a construction process that will start with the city soliciting bids for work.

“We’re thrilled to get the allocation from the state,” said Tomás Herrera-Mishler, who runs the nonprofit Balboa Park Conservancy. The group has been leading the years-long renovation effort, so far paying for planning work that has been transmitted to the city. It’s now on the hook to raise the remainder of funds needed to complete what was once estimated to be an $11 million project.

Originally constructed in 1914, the Botanical Building is just one of four remaining permanent structures built for the Panama California Exposition. It’s visited by more than a half-million visitors every year, but is in need of major repair due to termite damage, rust and years of deferred maintenance, according to the conservancy.

In June, state Sen. Toni Atkins first announced that the state, thanks to a budget surplus, would give millions to help complete the renovation project. The project, which originated in 2015, had stalled due to a lack of funds. In September, the conservancy was selected by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Park Service to receive a $257,668 federal grant for the Botanical Building effort.