City reopens Hawrelak Park on Friday after 3 years of rehab work

Edmonton's largest central park, Hawrelak Park, is open again after three years and $134 million worth of work. CTV News Edmonton's Amanda Anderson reports.

William Hawrelak Park is now open.

The city opened its largest central park on Friday, three years after closing it for extensive rehabilitation work.

The $134.5-million project saw the replacement of its storm and sanitary sewer lines, its electrical and mechanical infrastructure, renovation to the buildings and structures, along with grading and landscaping.

“We’re so excited to be here and welcoming people back to Hawrelak Park after a three-year closure,” Juanita Spence of the City of Edmonton said.

“There’s lots of things that people will find that are new but also familiar.”

“There’s a new trail system in the park, about a two-kilometre loop around, that you can enjoy and see all the sides of the park. We’ve got new picnic sites, and of course, our facilities that are very treasured here have all had some refreshes. They all look and feel a little different while retaining their historical charm.”

Warming spaces and patios at the park have been expanded to make it more accessible during the winter.

Lighting has been added to make pathways brighter and the park also boasts a new playground.

“It features these towering trees, some chickadees. There’s all kinds of play features. And we just can’t wait to see families really enjoying that space,” Spence said.

The city announced Friday that Tiramisu Bistro will open a restaurant later this spring in the park’s main pavilion called Lift Me Up on the Lake. The popular Italian eatery operates a bakery adjacent to its 124 Street home called Lift Me Up Bakery.

Parking at the site has also changed as a result of the renovation.

“It’s still about the same amount of parking in the park, but it’s configured a little bit differently,” Spence said.

“So there’s some pull outs on the road that didn’t used to be there. The main parking lot has been expanded, but some of the roadside parking that used to be here doesn’t exist any longer.”

The site along the south shore of the North Saskatchewan River and below Groat Road is used year-round and is the site of Edmonton’s largest festival, the Edmonton Heritage Festival, which is held over the August long weekend every year. Organizers and the city moved the festival to the Exhibition Lands while Hawrelak Park was closed.

Other festivals and events, including winter’s Silver Skate Festival, were relocated as well.

The park, called Mayfair Park, first opened on July 1, 1967, for children fishing in its lake stocked with 24,000 rainbow trout. The first of its pavilions opened on Feb. 1 the next year for skating. It was renamed Hawrelak Park in 1982 for Mayor William Hawrelak, who died in office in 1975. Other structures, including three picnic shelters, a boat house and the Heritage Amphitheatre, opened later.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Amanda Anderson