"We want River Park to be the campus that we share," Harvard-Westlake president Rick Commons told the Harvard-Westlake Chronicle in August. "We don't share [the Upper School campus] with our neighbors."
The binding version of that promise is a set of hours, written into the city's approval of the project. Read those hours next to the school's own practice schedule and a clear pattern shows up. On the former Weddington Golf & Tennis site, the public is guaranteed the grounds all day, while the courts, pool and fields will be most available before lunch. For Studio City neighbors, River Park will work best as a morning park.
Where the opening date stands
The Los Angeles Times described the project in late July as a 16-acre, $200-million complex nearing completion, with the school hoping to have it in use by early 2027. The Chronicle reported on August 25 that the opening had moved from fall 2026 to early 2027, with the certificate of occupancy and final inspections still waiting on city approval. Head of Upper School Beth Slattery told the paper the opening "will probably be sometime towards the end of this calendar year or the beginning of next."
The road to this point was long. According to the Superior Court ruling on a later challenge, the Los Angeles City Council approved the project unanimously on November 14, 2023, after appeals. Construction started the following April. That same ruling, from December 2024, denied the court challenge to the approval.
Most of the visible work right now is on the street. The school's October 9 construction update says the Whitsett Avenue lane closure will last about five more weeks, which points to mid-November. Crews are pouring sidewalk, gutter and curb on the half closest to the fire station and planting trees and shrubs along the new public right-of-way. Inside the fence, workers are assembling metal bleachers at Field A and the pool, and the artificial turf has been delivered. According to the school, the sidewalk is being moved farther onto Harvard-Westlake's property. That widens the public right-of-way, repairs a stretch that had been uprooted by a foot or more in places, and adds native oak trees.
The part that is open to everyone, all day
The guaranteed public core of River Park is smaller than the whole campus. According to the school's FAQ, the six-acre park and the clubhouse will be open free to the general public every day of the year from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Visitors can walk in from the Zev Yaroslavsky LA River Greenway or through the main pedestrian entrance off Whitsett Avenue. The city's conditions of approval list the same daily window for the clubhouse, café and putting green, and for the pedestrian paths and landscaped areas.
The old clubhouse, café and putting green are staying as shared spaces and will not become student facilities. The FAQ says Café Southwest will reopen in the remodeled clubhouse with a new kitchen and more seating. The Times described the café as privately run.
The city planning report describes a perimeter walking path, shaded seating, courtyard seating near the café, an interpretive history display, and paths that connect to the Greenway. In a response to the appeals, City Planning says Council District 4 asked for further changes, which it incorporated into the conditions. These included turning the clubhouse and tennis courtyard into a publicly accessible planted pocket park and removing or lowering some perimeter fences.
The school will still keep part of the site to itself. Commons told the Chronicle the campus has "an interior area" with "tasteful, not-too-dramatic fences and walls" for student activities that the public cannot reach.
Everything else runs on the school's clock
Outside the park and clubhouse, the conditions repeat one phrase: "when not in use by the School." The FAQ says Harvard-Westlake will generally use the athletic facilities from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. during the school year, mostly between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. That one sentence decides when everything below is actually available.
| Facility | Who can use it | Approved hours | What the school's FAQ adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Park paths, landscaped areas | General public, free | 7 a.m.–9 p.m. daily | Open every day of the year |
| Clubhouse, café, putting green | General public | 7 a.m.–9 p.m. daily | Café Southwest returning |
| Tennis courts | Public, when the school isn't using them | 7 a.m.–9 p.m. daily | In general, 7 a.m.–3 p.m. and 6 p.m.–9 p.m. |
| Swimming pool | Members of pre-approved swim programs, when the school isn't using it | 7 a.m.–9 a.m. weekdays; school may extend to 8 p.m. | Individual lap swimming, weekdays 7–9 a.m., September through May |
| Athletic fields | Pre-approved organizations, when the school isn't using them | 7 a.m.–8 p.m. daily | Individual use of Field B and the track, weekdays 7 a.m.–noon, September through May |
| Gym courts, Community Room, River Room | Pre-approved organizations | 7 a.m.–9 p.m. daily | Available to community groups |
Read down the right-hand column and the morning pattern is plain. The FAQ's tennis window has a gap from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Individual lap swimming ends at 9 a.m. Individual time on Field B and the track ends at noon. The extra individual access the FAQ describes is all in the morning, and it all runs September through May.
In two places the FAQ also goes further than the city's minimum. On the pool, the conditions refer to "members of pre-approved swim programs," while the FAQ describes individual lap swimming. On the fields, the conditions refer to pre-approved organizations, while the FAQ adds individual use of Field B and the track. The conditions set the floor, and the FAQ describes the school's stated intention above it. The FAQ is undated, so the rules that matter will be the ones the school posts when the gates open.
The city's appeal-response report says public use carries no fee and calls for a reservation system for the recreational facilities. The planning report places check-in for tennis reservations and putting-green use at the clubhouse. The school has not yet published a booking portal.
Who fills the afternoons and the courts
The "pre-approved organizations" are already named on the school's River Park page. Angel City Sports plans adaptive sports programs, described as free and year-round. Friends of the Los Angeles River, known as FoLAR, plans environmental education and tours. The USTA plans tennis instruction, teams and tournaments, and Special Olympics plans to hold events there. For a neighbor without a club membership, these programs are the other way into the gym, pool and fields at times when individual access isn't offered.
Getting there on foot, and the parking rules
The conditions of approval treat the site as a walk-in park, with the Greenway as the river-side entrance. The FAQ counts 386 underground and 17 surface parking spaces. It says the school will run shuttles, encourage carpooling, and bar students and employees from parking at River Park in the morning to shuttle to the Upper School. The school also says security staff will enforce a ban on parking in the surrounding neighborhood, and violators can lose permission to use River Park facilities.
Large events have their own rule. When more than 300 spectators are expected at once, the approval requires event parking reservations. Drivers without one must be turned away and sent to park at the Upper School and take a shuttle. The Times described the first year of public use and traffic as a learning process.
What is still unannounced
The school has not announced a confirmed opening date, a café operator or menu, or a reservation workflow. The most recent public statements still describe city approvals as pending. Until the gates open, the best guide is what the city required. The six-acre park and the clubhouse are free from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day. Courts, pool and fields come second to a school schedule that runs mostly from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., which leaves the mornings most open to the public.
If you live near Whitsett and are wondering what River Park's hours and traffic rules will mean for your street once it opens, Jonah Wilson Partners follows changes like this one closely. We're glad to talk through what we know.
