CAPITOLA >> A local nonprofit dedicated to improving Santa Cruz County’s open spaces announced it met its fundraising goal to help bring a new, inclusive playground to Capitola.

After an 18-month campaign sprung from a public-private partnership, County Park Friends helped raise more than $1 million in private donations for the Treasure Cove at Jade Street Park project. That means that the city, which is the project’s lead, is more than halfway to securing the estimated $1.8 million needed to bring the park transformation to life and puts it on track to close the financial gap by spring and potentially celebrate a groundbreaking by next winter.

“I am thrilled, but not surprised, by our community’s generosity and enthusiasm for Treasure Cove Playground and by the support and hard work of County Park Friends,” former Capitola Mayor Kristen Brown, who just wrapped up eight years in office last week, wrote in a release from County Park Friends. “This project, specifically designed to be welcoming to all, will truly be a Capitola treasure for generations to come.”

The park, which will sport marine and shoreline themes, is part of a growing local effort to construct universally accessible public play spaces that can be enjoyed by children of diverse abilities, ages and backgrounds, including the more than 12% that have a disability. Treasure Cove will feature accessible equipment including swings, a wheelchair-accessible merry-go-round, spinners, slides, and a cozy dome—all placed on a soft and safe rubberized surface.

The forthcoming play center in Capitola drew inspiration from LEO’s Haven, established in 2020 at Chanticleer Park in Santa Cruz as the county’s first universally accessible playground. Another is in the works at Ramsay Park in Watsonville.

“Our team is grateful to all the donors and volunteers who’ve laid the foundation for Treasure Cove,” said Dan Haifley, a community lead volunteer for the effort and former executive director of O’Neill Sea Odyssey and Save Our Shores. “Their generosity will bring much needed joy and laughter into the lives of countless children who’ll have a safe place to play alongside their peers. Its true impact will be immeasurable and priceless.”

In addition to the more than 250 individual donors that contributed, some of whom shared funds in honor of loved ones, the fundraising campaign received significant boosts from regional organizations including a $250,000 matching grant challenge from Monterey Peninsula Foundation and events hosted by the Capitola-Aptos Rotary Club, Santa Cruz Sunrise Rotary Club, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Surf City Kiwanis, Santa Cruz Gives and Britannia Arms. Foundation support also came from Kaiser Permanente and donor advisors at the Community Foundation Santa Cruz County and the Soquel Union Elementary School District.

“Our members are delighted to be part of Treasure Cove, a place where the community can come together and have fun,” said Lowry Fenton, Capitola-Aptos Rotary 2024 president.

The revamped park, next to the jewel box neighborhood above Capitola Village, also shares a property with the city’s Community Center that doubles as a hub for a variety of community-serving programs and an evacuation center during disaster events. But as the facility’s age has begun to show, the city has planned a full-scale renovation effort and continues to seeks funding for the project’s estimated $5.8 million cost. With help from Assemblymember Dawn Addis, that project received $1 million grant from the Natural Resources Agency and also sought funding from the state’s Community Development Block Grant program.

“County Park Friends is humbled by the breadth of support from our community to create Treasure Cove,” said County Park Friends Executive Director Mariah Roberts. “This is the type of community building project our organization loves to do and it’s only possible because everyone steps up to play their part and make it happen.”