Gore Park redesign is done, debuts Sunday
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On budget and on time, Gore Park will reopen Sunday.
The $1.7-million overhaul of the Central Garden Block between James and Hughson Streets began in June, and despite starting three weeks late, the rejuvenation of the park will finish the day it was meant to — Oct. 30 — a rarity for construction projects.
"We had little to no rain days," said Meghan Stewart, the city landscape architect who has led the project, adding a "very competent contractor" helped make sure the revamp met its deadline.
There could have been pitfalls, she said.
"There is 150 years of history, and the second we start to excavate, we don't know exactly what we're going to find … There was nothing major we weren't able to handle."
This is Phase 2 of the Gore Pedestrianization Initiative, which is meant to make the park more accessible to businesses and people.
The oldest part of the park features the majestic Victorian fountain, which now has a new expanded walkway with benches surrounding it.
Stewart said only the finishing touches of Phase 2 remain.
It was a much different scene in August. The park was closed to the public and filled with excavators and trucks. Bustling with activity, the concrete had been ripped up, you could see the new drainage system being installed and the garden planters were still being built.
The once-exposed ground has been topped with fresh concrete, including at the south leg of King, where the street and sidewalk now meet to make it more pedestrian friendly.
The garden beds are full — the city has planted 25 different trees, and hundreds of shrubs and perennials.
This latest phase is part of a multi-year, multimillion-dollar development and restoration project. Phase 2 is a "facelift" when compared to the major redesign at Veterans' Place from Hughson Street to John Street, which was completed in 2015.
"It's exciting because it's the second-third of three pieces of a park and seven years of public consultation coming to fruition," Stewart said.
With an average of about 1,500 people visiting the park's summer promenade attractions, the Downtown Hamilton BIA looks forward to filling it with more days of local entertainment.
"We're going to be able to change the footprint of the promenade next summer," executive director Kerry Jarvi said.
Attendance was lower this summer because of the construction, Jarvi said, noting people made their way instead to Veterans' Place for a stroll, a coffee or to play one of the large-scale games set up.
The city still plans to erect a nine-metre-high beacon in the southwest corner of the park and another one at the eastern end at Catharine Street. The beacons are designed to bookend and delineate the park, complementing the enclaves in Veterans' Place.
The bases of the beacons will be laid in anticipation of a public art call in November for graphics that will adorn them.
"It is expected that the shortlisted proposals will be posted on the city's website for public comment in the winter," said Ken Coit, the city's program manager for public art and projects.
The final work, Phase 3, is expected to begin in 2018 at the front of the former Royal Connaught between John Street and Catharine Street.
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