Lake Forest outlines $55 million CIP; Heroes Park renovation highlighted

Nazmul Karam, assistant director of public works, presented the city's 2026 capital improvement program to the Planning Commission on May 7, saying the current CIP includes 60 projects totaling $55,000,000 and that the council added two projects during the midyear review.

Karam said four projects finished since the last update included Vintage Park neighborhood renovations, pickleball court re-striping, citywide sidewalk repairs, and a protected permissive left-turn study. She also said that since June 2025 the city completed 17 CIP projects representing about $10,500,000 in investments.

Ongoing work includes construction on the El Toro Road corridor improvements, Bake Parkway widening and median work, Lake Forest Sports Park HVAC replacement, Foothill Ranch park improvements and a fifth phase of audible pedestrian signal installations. Karam said 12 projects are in construction, 8 are in preconstruction, 8 are in design and 3 are in predesign. She flagged three active predesign projects: Kavanaugh Park, Lake Forest Sports Park building renovations and a skate-park building improvement.

A mayor's-minute segment and accompanying comments highlighted a full renovation at Heroes Park — regraded fields, new turf, new fencing and energy-efficient LED lighting — and noted the project has been nominated for a county engineering award.

Karam said staff will proceed with procurement and construction as funding and schedules allow, and she answered commissioner questions about timelines, procurement status and next steps.

The commission did not adopt an action on the CIP at this meeting; staff will continue project delivery and return with future updates as appropriate.