HOLLYWOOD, CA — Griffith Park is about to get even bigger.
The park will grow by 9.71 acres thanks to a donation of land by the nonprofit Los Angeles Parks Foundation. The rectangular parcel — completely surrounded by the park on all sides — is off Mt. Lee Drive, the dirt road that leads to the Hollywood Sign. It’s one of the last privately owned pieces of land within the park.
The Los Angeles Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners on Thursday approved the donation. The city is expected to close escrow on the property within 90 days, according to city documents.
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The land already includes a popular “unofficial trail,” the Mt. Chapel Trail, that connects to Griffith Park’s path network, city officials said.
Once owned by studio magnate Howard Hughes, the land was purchased by the Parks Foundation for $175,000. The money was raised through donations, including $40,000 from the office of City Councilmember Nithya Raman, plus gifts from Friends of Griffith Park, West Valley Alliance for Optimal Living, The Sikand Foundation, and Robert and Joan Young, the Los Angeles Daily News reported earlier this year.
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“The addition of [the land] would protect and preserve this landscape from development and add to the numerous trails and recreational activities, both passive and active use by the public,” reads a city report.
In addition to the land, the Parks Foundation’s donation includes up to $5,000 in closing costs. The sale agreement stipulates that the parcel must be preserved as part of the park in perpetuity.
Before this donation, the city put the official size of Griffith Park at 4,210 acres, or 6.58 square miles, making it one of the largest municipal wilderness parks in the country.
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