Edmonton's Hawrelak Park set to reopen this winter
Park closed in 2023 to undergo extensive repair and rehabilitation work
Hawrelak Park is on track to open this winter after extensive repair work caused the park to close in 2023.
Construction is anticipated to be completed in fall 2025, the city said in a statement to CBC.
"Before reopening the park, the city will spend time preparing the park and staff for reopening," said Jesse Banford, director, facility infrastructure delivery, integrated infrastructure services with the City of Edmonton.
"The city is planning to reopen the park in winter 2025/2026. More information will be shared as details are confirmed."
The project is on schedule and within its $134.5 million budget, Banford said.
"It'll be open this fall and I don't have a date, but I do know the hard guarantee is that it'll be open by the Silver Skate Festival," said Ward papastew Coun. Michael Janz in an interview with CBC.
The Silver Skate Festival is scheduled to begin on Feb. 6, though its website currently lists the location for the festival as Laurier Park.
Current work includes paving of the roadways and shared pathways as rehabilitation work continues across the park.
The city said a full closure of the park was needed to work on utilities, facilities and open spaces at the same time, and to account for safety concerns as repairs began..
Deep underground utility infrastructure, including the storm, sanitary, water distribution, power and irrigation systems, was all replaced.
"There's been an enormous amount of work that's happened below the surface we've seen and had the opportunity to observe. It's really quite impressive what's been done and I just can't wait for it to be open again," Janz said.
"With the closure, more people were discovering other parks and other spaces, be it Borden Park, Emily Murphy Park, or Rundle Park or other other spots in our river valley that offer incredible opportunities as well," Janz said.
"As our city has grown, over the last four years, we've grown over 150,000 people, we're going to need more park spaces like this."
WATCH | Parks that residents have been able to check out with Hawrelak Park closed:
Hawrelak Park has been home to many events in Edmonton including the Silver Skate Festival, the Freewill Shakespeare Festival and Edmonton Heritage Festival.
Heritage Festival executive Director Rob Rohatyn told CBC moving the festival to Borden park during Hawrelak's construction was an adjustment.
"It's been a really great three years we've had it. It's had its challenges," Rohatyn said in an interview during Heritage Festival this past weekend.
"However, it's been a really great learning opportunity, and we're excited to get back to Hawrelak and to see the upgrades that are available to us and and share our festival in the green space."
The city said the remaining rehabilitation work includes electrical and mechanical work in the facilities, as well as paving the remaining roadways and pathways.
This is anticipated to be completed throughout this summer and fall.
The remaining landscaping work, including sod placement, tree planting, is also planned to be completed during that time. Landscaping will need time to establish before the park can reopen to the public.
With files from Liam Newbigging