The landscaping around Balboa Park’s Botanical Building in San Diego will be getting a $10m refresh.

The project will include nine garden spaces, historically accurate seating around the fountains and lily pond, and the installation of a grand pergola, which will replace the original that was lost during the federal government’s takeover during World War I.

Balboa Park’s Botanical Building is one of four remaining permanent structures built for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition that reopened in December. It took three years and $25.5m from the city of San Diego to reconstruct it in the center of the park. Now a nonprofit called Forever Balboa Park is taking over the reins to finish the exterior work.

Forever Balboa Park is responsible for paying for and completing the second phase, and it has already raised nearly 70% of costs. This will be the first test of the nonprofit’s ability to manage and oversee a project of this scale.

Parts of the second phase have already been completed in time for the reopening last year, including the restored balustrades and urns along the bridge, as well as the fountains.

Themed gardens designed by Spurlock Landscape Architects are now being created along the boundaries of the lawns, with special attention being paid to the garden areas west of the building as these will form the entrance to the grand pergola.

There will also be a sensory garden with specialized plants and a decomposed granite path that will meander from Old Globe Way to a fragrant garden near the new pergola.

Construction is expected to be completed in early 2026, though the nonprofit promises some public access to the Botanical Building even while work is underway.