Daily Commercial News
So I guess Cityplace Park has
NOT been 'officially' named yet ~
*************
Icons of Canada decorate downtown Toronto park
September 22, 2009
GEORGE PIMENTEL - Giant representations of fishing bobbers figure among the art works at the new Concord CityPlace park in downtown Toronto. In the rear is the Beaver Dam.
It took five years to plan and build and the price tag hovers around the $8 million mark, but the new park at Concord CityPlace is worth every minute of time and every penny spent, says Terry Hui, president and CEO of Concord Adex Inc.
“It has become an amazing public space that is certain to be treasured by generations,†says Hui, whose firm is the developer of the project.
The as-yet-unnamed eight-acre park was designed by Canadian artist/author Douglas Coupland and landscape architects Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg. It was inspired by Canadian hero Terry Fox.
A large part of the park’s appeal is that it seems to offer something for everyone, Concord Adex says. It is much more than a patch of green in a city that sometimes seems dominated by asphalt and concrete.
There are patches of woodland, intimate trails and pathways, interesting topography such as the bluff created by the materials excavated to make way for Concord CityPlace’s towers, sports fields, the Terry Fox Miracle Mile jogging and running track and public art that celebrates the city’s history.
The Miracle Mile is dotted at measured distances by glass-encased monuments to Fox. Each will contain pictures from Coupland’s book on the Vancouver teen who ran across Canada in 1981 to raise funds for cancer research.
The overall theme of the park is what Coupland calls “A Library of Canada.†The park uses not just art works and other features but also the topography itself to capture a sense of the country and its spirit, says corporate art consultant Karen Mills, who suggested and selected the public art to be created by Coupland and who co-ordinated the project.
“We used earth excavated from Concord CityPlace building sites to create a natural bluff and other features,†she says.
“The topography reflects features of the original shoreline as seen by the pioneers who built this city and represents a statement about the place, the times and the history this site has seen.â€
The park runs north from Fort York Boulevard and extends from just west of Spadina Avenue almost to Bathurst Street.
Its proximity to Fort York and the fort’s role in Canadian history is only part of the tale the new park will tell.
“The idea is to wrap the men, women and children who will use the park regularly — or even occasionally — in a living testament to the country, the city and the region,†says Hui. “Its features will involve them not just on a physical level but on an intellectual and emotional level as well.â€
Park visitors can connect with history through its various art works such as the Beaver Dam and giant representation of fishing bobbers or the dancing jets of its water feature. All capture the past of the city and all form a link with its future.
The park is one of the largest ever created by a private developer in the city’s history. But it will not be the last. Concord Adex plans a similar-sized central park for its newest project, Concord Park Place south of Sheppard Avenue East and west of Leslie Street. It also has created similar public parks in Vancouver at Concord Pacific Place.
A competition will be held to name the new Toronto park.
— PATRICIA WILLIAMS
http://www.dailycommercialnews.com/article/id35410