Where will Alamo spend its Friday evenings next July? For years the answer has been a lawn on Miranda Avenue. This summer, Livorna Park hosted four free Friday concerts from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The Sun Kings played July 10, Fourjour July 17, Highway Vagabonds July 24, and Fog City Swampers closed the series July 31. In its own project overview, Contra Costa County says the park's coming renovation "will interrupt the Summer Entertainment Series – 2027" and that the park is expected to reopen in December 2027.
Downtown is moving the other way. Within half a mile of the park, two of the most visible empty spaces in Alamo's commercial core are being rebuilt for new tenants, and a third changed hands this spring. The places Alamo gathers are trading roles for a while. The outdoor anchor is about to close just as the indoor ones fill back in. That makes this fall and holiday season the last stretch before the park shuts down.
Livorna Park is still open, and the bid deadline is October 14
The renovation hasn't started yet, so nothing has closed. As of September 30, the County's online planroom lists the Livorna Park Improvements Project as "Accepting Bids." A pre-bid meeting was held September 28, and bids are due October 14, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. No contractor has been named and no closure date has been announced. The County's overview says work is scheduled to begin in fall 2026.
The bid documents show how much of the park is being redone. The drawings, prepared by Stantec Consulting Services and issued for bid on September 4, 2026, cover:
- concrete retaining walls, walkways and paving
- the playground, basketball court and bocce court
- restrooms, shade structures, benches, a drinking fountain and bike racks
- a new mist play area
- landscaping, irrigation, lighting, sewer, storm drain, plumbing and electrical
The environmental filing posted in April adds detail. It describes replacing the 8,400-square-foot playground, expanding the basketball court to full size, and planting about 58 trees and 12,500 square feet of shrubs. The County's overview estimates construction at $3.75 million to $4 million and lists tree preservation and cooling features among its goals.
The schedule has already moved once. The April environmental record expected a July 2026 start and about 320 working days of construction. The County's later overview moved the start to fall and set the reopening for December 2027. With bids still open in October, the playground and courts are likely to stay usable for at least part of the season. The County hasn't said where the 2027 concerts will go, or whether they'll be held anywhere else. That decision hasn't been made public yet.
The commercial core is filling the gap first
A year ago, Alamo Plaza was best known for its vacancies. A cover story in DanvilleSanRamon.com's downtown series in October 2025 described the empty former Rite Aid. It also reported business owners' concerns about a change in shopping-center ownership and higher rents. The County's planning direction, as described in that story, was to keep Alamo's commercial core as a central gathering place while adding services and housing. Supervisor Candace Andersen put it this way:
It would "still look like Alamo."
Twelve months on, here is how the three biggest spaces stand.
130 Alamo Plaza, the former Rite Aid. Renovation crews are building the first Vim + Vigor Fitness Reserve Club, which the company calls its "most elevated fitness experience." The club is scheduled to open in December. The unit had been empty for just over a year after Rite Aid closed during the chain's nationwide bankruptcy. The new club will join two fitness tenants already in the plaza, The Iron House at 190F Alamo Plaza and the BODYROK pilates studio at 170F. That gives the center three fitness businesses. 24 Hour Fitness used to fill the 140F unit before it closed in 2020.
3160 Danville Boulevard, the former Forli Ristorante in Stone Valley Center. The Post is an American comfort-food restaurant from the team behind Main St Kitchen & Bar in Walnut Creek. An August 5 report described renovation work and "Coming Soon" signs at the space. It named Alamo Restaurant & Bar Group LLC as the restaurant entity, with Ali Reza Ghasemi as CEO and Lala Hospitality, led by Ali and Lauren Ghasemi, as manager. As of this writing, the restaurant's homepage still says "The wait is nearly over" and asks visitors to follow along for the opening date. Treat it as opening soon, with no date announced yet.
3195 Danville Boulevard, The Courtyard. This one is already finished. The Peasant's Courtyard served its last meals on April 19, 2026, and The Courtyard Restaurant opened the next morning under new ownership. Chef Jourdan De Sanctis and Amy De Sanctis run it.
All three changes are reuses of existing spaces. The Courtyard took over a restaurant address, The Post is moving into a former restaurant, and Vim + Vigor is rebuilding an anchor storefront that was already there. That matches the "still look like Alamo" direction from last fall. The buildings and addresses stay the same while the tenants change.
A holiday calendar that already happens outside the park
The fall events on Alamo's calendar don't depend on Livorna. Each one is held at a church, a historic site, or a club building, so the renovation shouldn't affect any of them. Through the end of the year:
- Sunday, October 25, 2 to 4:30 p.m. The Great Pumpkin Bash at Creekside Community Church, 1350 Danville Boulevard. It's a free family afternoon with trick-or-treating, pumpkin decorating, raffle prizes, a photo booth, and a Charlie Brown movie.
- Saturday, October 31, 10 a.m. to noon. The Fall Alamo Cemetery Tour is led by docents from the Museum of the San Ramon Valley along with historic re-enactors. Meet at 130 El Portal. Registration is through the event listing.
- Tuesday, November 24, 6 p.m. Hospice East Bay's Alamo Tree of Lights ceremony at the Alamo Women's Club, 1401 Danville Boulevard. The page carrying the schedule is several years old, so check it again closer to the date.
- December. Vim + Vigor's target opening month at Alamo Plaza.
The season opened with the Alamo Improvement Association's 13th annual Autos of Alamo Festival on September 10. The free evening of cars, live music, and food took place at Alamo Plaza, not on a park lawn. Alamo Plaza has hosted community events before. Next summer, with Livorna closed, it could take on more of them.
Getting out of town on foot or by bike this fall
Two trail closures will affect routes heading north from Alamo. East Bay Regional Park District will close the Iron Horse Trail crossing at the Robert I. Schroder Pedestrian Bridge over Treat Boulevard from October 5 through December 31, 2026, for repairs. Work runs 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., Sunday through Thursday, with occasional lane closures on Treat and expected driver delays of about 10 minutes. The District has also scheduled a separate closure from October 5 to 12 for the Walnut Creek stretch between Mt. Diablo Boulevard and Civic Park. That work is PG&E vegetation management and wildlife-enhancement work.
East of town, parts of Diablo Foothills and Castle Rock Regional Parks will have construction closures from October 2026 through October 2027, mostly on Stage Road Trail. The Castle Rock staging area may also close from time to time. That closure period runs almost exactly alongside the Livorna Park renovation.
Closer to home, the County's overview lists flashing pedestrian beacons at La Serena Avenue and the Iron Horse Trail, due "by August 2026." It also lists crosswalk improvements at Danville Boulevard and South Avenue, with construction expected in 2027. No source has confirmed yet that the La Serena beacons are finished.
Between now and December, Livorna Park stays open while the County reviews bids. The Courtyard is already serving at 3195 Danville Boulevard, The Post is getting ready to open at 3160, and the Reserve Club is due at 130 Alamo Plaza in December.
Seeing a neighborhood change week by week helps when a big decision comes up. When you start thinking about what Alamo's next few years could mean for your own home, the Khrista Jarvis Team can walk you through it. Schedule a complimentary white‑glove consultation.
