Elaborate downtown park finally set to be constructed
Susan Lazaruk
The Province
Construction is scheduled to begin next month on an elaborate Downtown Vancouver park that includes a public plaza, cafe, raised walkways and a price tag that ballooned to $14 million from its original estimate of $8 million.
The Vancouver park board, which oversaw the design of the park that’s being built on a parking lot at Smithe and Richards streets, is expected to vote on the awarding of the contract to the construction company at its Monday meeting, the final step before construction can begin.
The new park will be divided into three terraces and will include a public plaza with a water feature, small cafe, playground, a community table for programs, seating terraces, plants and overhead “sky-frames” to provide lighting and on which to install public art.
In 2011, it was estimated to cost $8 million, an amount that was to be covered by the community amenity contributions (CACs) paid by the developer of the Telus Gardens condo complex during the rezoning process. CACs are routinely agreed to by developers during rezoning, usually in exchange for increased density.
The Telus Gardens’ developer in 2011 agreed to pay $8 million, which was expected to cover the purchase of the land, demolition of the existing parking lot, park development and construction costs, according to the park board staff report recommending the granting of the tendered contract to Smith Bros. and Wilson.
The actual $13.8-million price tag for the park nine years later is 73-per-cent higher than the $8-million estimate. And the park’s estimated yearly maintenance budget is $500,000.
The park board approved the concept design for the park in 2016, after public consultation, and construction was delayed as staff worked on the design in 2017 and 2018.
The staff report noted Vancouver city council in its second-quarter capital budget adjustments approved an increase for the project “to reflect the complexity of the park design and higher construction costs.”
Because construction exceeds $2 million, the granting of the construction contract requires approval by city council, and councillors will vote on it at the regular council meeting Tuesday.
“I would consider that (73-per-cent increase in cost) higher than usual,” said Vancouver Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung, former parks board chairwoman, who served on the board during the park’s design stage. But she said there were delays in permitting for the project and noted the “design itself is quite complex,” and the increased cost could be “because of the nature of the design.”
She said she will also have questions for the parks board about where the extra funding came from, saying it may have come from the city’s common pool of CACs.
Kirby-Yung said she’s likely to support the final approval of the project because “I do support delivery of new parks” in Vancouver.
The parks board said the park is expected to be “intensely used” by the 30,000 individuals who live and work within a five-minute walk of the site.
Construction is to begin in early 2020 and it’s expected to open in early 2021.
Parks staff called it the “most significant downtown urban park in Vancouver in over 10 years” and said it will provide much-needed park space for the growing Downtown South neighbourhood, and relieve pressure on other downtown parks, such as Emery Barnes, Nelson and Yaletown.
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