Palisades Rec Center breaks ground, restoring fields, playgrounds and gathering areas

Los Angeles city and community leaders gathered for the groundbreaking on the $50 million rebuilding of the wildfire-destroyed Palisades Recreation Center and surrounding park on Tuesday, marking the largest public-private partnership in the history of the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks.

The recreation center and gathering spaces were destroyed in the 2025 Palisades Fire, and all the project's funding comes from philanthropic donors.

"Last April, I stood here with Rick Caruso and JJ Reddick, and we committed to working together to build a partnership and break ground on this project quickly," Mayor Karen Bass said.

Reddick, the Los Angeles Lakers head coach, lost his rented Palisades home in the wildfire. He co-founded LA Strong Sports in the aftermath of the fire, with the goal of rebuilding and expanding sports and recreation facilities across Los Angeles.

"I'm grateful that myself, Rick Caruso, Mayor Bass, and her office, that we could all be connected on this project," Reddick said, noting he worked with eight different organizations on the project.

"This has been a true collective effort, and I am so proud, my wife as well, to be a part of this collective effort," Reddick said.

Caruso's Palisades Village shopping center was damaged by the Palisades wildfire and reopened last month. He founded the nonprofit, Steadfast LA, dedicated to rebuilding after the January 2025 fires

"When we formed Steadfast, we had a very strong principle that we were going to live by -- and the principle is the comeback is always stronger than the setback," Caruso said.

"We're going to have a better park, a more cohesive park, more facilities for kids, more facilities for families, more facilities for the seniors, and it's going to be a better park."

The Palisades Recreation Center is set to be rebuilt from the ground up, restoring the gathering areas, fields, and playgrounds. The project is expected to be completed in 14 to 16 months.

Caruso said $40 million has been raised so far and assured that no taxpayer money will be used. He said that while more funding is needed, construction is beginning.

"We know we can finish it out, and our donors have just been amazing," Caruso said.