There's a small lawn in the middle of Olive Square Park, the city's newest public park because residents of the Yonge and Finch area wanted at least some green in the otherwise highly developed area.
"There was a series of two working groups meetings where we presented a couple of options," says David Nosella, a capital projects supervisor with the city. "The selected the concept on which the final design was based."
Nosella says there were between 20 and 25 residents in each group, who worked with designs provided by Michael Prusetti of
MEP Design. "The planting is all irrigated," Nosella says. "There's a central, raised law area, which the community was adamant they wanted. They wanted at least some open lawn space."
The 1,600-square-metre park is otherwise designed as an urban square, fronting onto Yonge Street, with limestone from Owen Sound along the frontage, a
bioswale to filter rainwater before it makes it into the sewer system, and LED lighting throughout.
There are also lots of benches.
"It's somewhere on Yonge Street to come and eat your lunch or sit and read your book," Nosella says.
Work began on the park in November, and was substantially completed in early May on a budget of $950,000. The park officially opened this week.
Writer: Bert Archer
Source: David Nosella
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