In the early 1980s, when her eponymous bakery was in its infancy, Gayle Ortiz learned that a developer planned to turn the land surrounding the Rispin Mansion in Capitola into a senior living complex and several private homes.
That plan did not sit well with Ortiz, who believed the palatial home should be preserved. She jumped into action.
“We felt like that was going to take it out of the public realm, and we asked the City Council to buy it,” said Ortiz, who also heads Capitola Cares, a group raising funds to rebuild the mansion grounds.
The council agreed, and the city made the $1 million purchase.
Some four decades later, elected officials, Capitola city employees and community members gathered to celebrate the completion of the Park at Rispin Mansion, a gardenscape that allows visitors to stroll the grounds of the 105-year-old building.
While Ortiz’s hopes of turning the once-lavish home at 2000 Wharf Road into a museum were sidelined after a 2009 fire, she said she was pleased to see the park come to fruition.
“It was beautiful before it burned,” she said. “Over the years, there’s been a lot of disappointments. But we’ve got to put those aside and see what’s happening today. And maybe someday, something will happen with the museum.”
Because of heavy rain Tuesday, the ceremony was held inside the Capitola Library just across the street from the new park. Both projects were part of a broader vision when City Manager Jamie Goldstein arrived in 2008, along with improvements to Clares Street.
“Here we are in a state-of-the-art library that this city put together,” he said. “Clares Street is a beautiful, multimodal street. And now today, thanks to our public works team and City Council support, the park across the street from Rispin Mansion is open.”
The Park at Rispin Mansion project — which cost about $1 million — was funded through the city’s general fund and voter-approved sources, including a Proposition 68 State of California Parks and Water Bond grant and Santa Cruz County Measure Q park improvement funds. Those funds helped pay for decorative hardscaping and utility work during construction.
The park features ADA-accessible pathways and a loop trail, concrete plazas and seating areas, native and riparian landscaping, modifications to the historic garden wall, as well as fencing, lighting, benches and recycling and trash bins.
Additional landscaping is planned, including a historic fountain to be funded in part through a $150,000 fundraising effort. That will include a chance to purchase a personalized paver stone.
For information, visit capitolacares.org.
Mayor Barbara Morgan said Rispin is the city’s first new park since 2006.
“One of the greatest parts of this project is really having access to outdoor space, which we know is really important in this community,” she said.Capitola celebrates Park at Rispin Mansion
