If the City of Walnut Creek's schedule holds, this is the last winter of lap swim at Clarke Memorial Swim Center. The City's project FAQ lists permitting, bidding and construction for the new Heather Farm Aquatic and Community Center as running from 2025 to spring 2027, with the next milestone labeled simply "Toes in the Water – Summer 2027." The Council's November 2025 contract report includes $1.5 million to demolish Clarke after the new building opens.
So Heather Farm Park is spending this winter in a strange in-between state. The old community center is gone and the new one is still rising out of its foundations. Clarke is the only piece of the old complex still open. Most of what makes the new project interesting is how it was drawn to take over each job Clarke does now, down to the restrooms the families at the all-abilities playground use.
The old building is already gone
What went first was the old community center. The City broke ground on February 18, 2026, according to Contra Costa News, and the former Heather Farm Park Community Center was demolished on March 6, with foundation removal following in the weeks after. Around 75 trees came out of the project site at the end of January 2026. The City says the plan ends in a net gain of 80 trees across the park. The removed redwoods aren't headed to a chipper. The City is working with Bay Area Redwood to turn them into artisanal wood pieces that will be displayed in the park.
Lathrop Construction holds the main building contract at $51,578,000, with authorization for up to $56,728,000 once contingency is included. The City's estimate for the full project, including design, soft costs and Clarke's eventual demolition, sits between $75.8 million in that Council report and roughly $77 million in the City's newer figures. In the City's October site tour, Public Works Director Rich Payne called it "the largest project that the city of Walnut Creek has ever performed."
Where the fence line stands as of October
The most recent look inside came in the City's quarterly video, Heather Farm Update: Oct 6, 2026. Standing beside the competition pool, Payne described what crews were racing to finish before the weather turns:
"They've installed the all the utilities and all the sub drainage and all the things needed before they go ahead and gunite, which is kind of concreting uh the surface of the pool. All of this work is happening and preparation for the rain."
Once that section is surfaced, he said, work moves on to the smaller recreation pool. Vertical construction had already started on the aquatics wing, which will hold a training and instructor room, restrooms and staff offices. Payne said he expects to post the next update in two or three months, which would land around the turn of the year.
What Clarke is still doing this winter
While all of that goes on next door, Clarke runs as usual. The City lists it as open for regular programming, with its heated 50-meter pool operating year-round for lap swim, water exercise and recreational swim. The FAQ says the City expects Clarke to stay open for the whole construction period.
Here are Clarke's currently posted hours, along with the rest of what stays open at Heather Farm outside the fencing:
| Spot | Posted hours | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Clarke lap swim | Weekdays 5:30 a.m.–4 p.m.; Mon–Thu 7–8 p.m.; weekends 11 a.m.–4 p.m. | Heated 50-meter pool, year-round |
| Clarke recreational swim | Weekends noon–4 p.m. | Same pool |
| Off-leash dog park | Weekdays 7 a.m.–8 p.m. or sunset; weekends and holidays 8 a.m.–8 p.m. or sunset | Closed Tuesdays 7 a.m.–noon for maintenance |
| The Gardens at Heather Farm | Sunrise to sunset daily | Free; closes for private events |
| Athletic fields | Six fields | Fields 1–2 close Wednesdays and 3–6 close Thursdays for maintenance |
Water exercise needs a phone call first. Clarke's page shows class times, but it also says there is no water-exercise instructor at this time. For the Gardens, the City suggests checking with the Gardens directly for current hours.
Some things are off-limits until the project wraps up. The concrete pond was refilled between October and December 2025. Construction fencing keeps people away from it, though, and also closes part of the canal trail near the nature lake. The City is still working with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife on a plan to restock the fish. The City says parking will be "challenging for the next couple of years" and asks visitors to leave extra time and try other lots around the park. Classes and camps that used to meet in the old community center are running at other Walnut Creek facilities and parks until they return to Heather Farm in 2027.
The Gardens' oldest holiday tradition turns 40
The Gardens at Heather Farm sits outside the work zone, and it's hosting the park's biggest seasonal date. The 40th Annual Teddy Bear Tea takes place Saturday, December 5 and Sunday, December 6, 2026, with four seatings:
- Saturday, December 5, 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.: sold out by late October
- Saturday, December 5, 2:30–4:30 p.m.
- Sunday, December 6, 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
- Sunday, December 6, 2:30–4:30 p.m.
Adult tickets cost $65 and child tickets cost $50. The Gardens says seating at each tea time is limited. With one of the four seatings gone more than a month early, the remaining three are probably the easiest holiday plan to lose by waiting.
The new building is drawn to replace Clarke, job by job
Taken piece by piece, the new center covers each service Clarke and the old community center provided.
Lap swimming. Clarke has one 50-meter pool. The new competition pool, Payne said, is "a nine lane 50-m long course pool with 18 25-m short course." Turning the lanes for short-course swimming makes 18 lanes available on the same water.
Casual swimming. A separate recreation pool will step from a deep end to a shallow end and then into a play area. Payne described it as a space for kids to "have fun with no competition" while parents swim with them. Payne also described generous deck space around it for sitting in the sun.
Restrooms. Payne said the recreation pool area includes restrooms shared, though divided, with the all-abilities playground, and that they make up for "the lack of restrooms that will be lost when the Clark pool is demoed." In other words, the new building is also taking over a park-wide utility that Clarke supplies today.
Gatherings. The Lakeside Room is just under 4,000 square feet and is meant for weddings and larger work events. It opens onto the lake and an outdoor garden with a trellis for ceremonies, and it has a kitchen and storage. A curtain can divide it so two events run at once, one facing the lake and one facing the front courtyard. It will also be the City's backup emergency operations center.
Lessons. The training room in the aquatics wing will host swimming lessons and other Arts + Rec programs, and an outdoor training amphitheater next to the pool adds space for instruction outside.
The new center doesn't settle what happens to Clarke's site. The City says a future community process will decide what goes in that space once the new facility opens. Until then, Clarke's posted schedule still opens weekday lap swim at 5:30 a.m., right next to the construction site of the pool that will replace it. The City's Heather Farm project page is the place to track the pond, the canal trail and the summer 2027 opening.
Big civic projects like Heather Farm change how a neighborhood runs day to day, and what it offers, long before the ribbon is cut. If you live near the park and want to know how the new center could affect what your home is worth as opening day gets closer, Lauren Kraus can walk you through it. Request your complimentary home valuation.
