SAN JOSE — After rejecting an appeal from a losing bidder, city leaders on Tuesday approved a $1 million agreement with a San Francisco park designer to reinvent downtown’s troubled St. James Park.

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August 19, 2016 San Jose: St. James Park redesign finalists picked CMG Landscape Architecture was one of four firms selected to submit ideas to revitalize the historic park last year. A “jury” of eight people, which included design professionals, community members and city staff, picked CMG’s redesign concept in a 6-2 vote.

But another architecture firm — called !melk Fr-ee — protested the decision and claimed the design competition was biased. A hearing officer reviewed the appeal and found it had no merit, said Marybeth Harasz of the city’s Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Department.

!melk Fr-ee appealed the decision again — bringing it to the City Council to decide on Tuesday.

“Our appeal is not about winning or losing this competition,” Ian Hampson, the firm’s director, told the council. “In this case, a number of significant violations came to light… It would be a shame if the entire competition would be nullified and the city had to start the project from scratch.”

Hampson said the city gave preferential treatment to CMG based on past relationships, the selection jury’s composition was inconsistent and CMG’s proposal didn’t maintain the park’s historic design — a requirement of the plan.

“The city rejects this allegation,” Harasz responded. “We do not have an established relationship with CMG.”

Downtown Councilman Raul Peralez said he “took offense” to allegations of impropriety in the St. James Park design competition.

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“It was not an easy process to select just one,” Peralez said. “Every single jury member was really involved and interested in the process. I think it was a very well-run and fair process.”

St. James Park, one of San Jose’s oldest public spaces, was once a downtown jewel, but its growing homeless population has frustrated efforts to make it more family-friendly.

The winning CMG design, which will cost an estimated $41 million, creates a border of Victorian gardens and new amenities like a playground, fountain, dog park and picnic area. The design moves the light rail station now in the park south of St. John Street and closes North Second Street to car traffic.

The $1 million approved by the council Tuesday — reduced from city staff’s initial $2.5 million recommendation — is pegged for the first phase of the project. The money comes from park impact fees collected from downtown residential development.

“It’s going to take some time and we want to do this in a way that makes sense and is fiscally-responsible as well,” said Mayor Sam Liccardo, who co-authored a memo with Peralez to reduce the public dollars invested in the first phase.

Liccardo and Peralez also suggested prioritizing the Second Street re-route and building a Levitt Pavilion — an outdoor music venue being funded by a private foundation — in the project’s first phase.

Downtown enthusiasts applauded the decision to move forward on a project they say promises to revitalize the long-neglected St. James Park.

“It’s taking a place that’s underutilized right now and making it attractive to people,” said Scott Knies, executive director of the San Jose Downtown Association, which has championed revamping the park. “The hard work begins now — taking the concept and putting it into a final design and actually building some of the elements.”