Pershing Square, the oldest park in Los Angeles, is getting a major facelift

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A ceremonial groundbreaking held on Monday marks the beginning of a renovation that will completely change the look of Pershing Square - the oldest park in the city of Los Angeles.

The 5-acre site across from the Biltmore Hotel is mostly concrete right now, but the vision for the park includes more grass and trees for the approximately 13,000 residents who live within half a mile of the park.

"This is a centerpiece - or it has potential to be a genuinely real centerpiece for all of the city of L.A.," said City Councilman Kevin de León.

The councilman's office secured the $21 million by moving park funds around to get Phase 1 started, which includes tearing down the walls along Olive Street.

But this phase will take a couple of years to complete. The city said it wants to keep the underground garage open during the renovation.

"There's a long term vision for this park which is really to open the edges up and to bring more greenery and to make it a much more vibrant community space," said Deborah Weintraub with the city's Department of Engineering. "The first phase is opening to one side, the second phase will be opening the long side to the Jewelry District and then they'll be changes internally within the park in the third phase."

Mary Kheir lives near Pershing Square and said she loves the idea of her neighborhood park being transformed into a greener place to hang out and walk her dogs.

"They're always using it for festivals and the ice rink in the winter, and then the grass always dies and then they close the park to re-do it," she said. "I think it would be great if the whole thing was green."

There is no exact timeline for all three phases due to funding, but they expect the first phase of the project to be complete by 2025.