Devonian Gardens to partially re-open tomorrow

Calgarians will once again be able to enjoy the playground area of the Devonian Gardens, with its reopening on Thursday, March 9.

“We’re excited to open the playground area to citizens,” says David Harrison, project manager for Calgary Parks. “When this repair work started we thought the park would have to remain completely closed until it was finished for safety and efficiency reasons, but because of hard work by the project team we are able to open phases of the park earlier than anticipated.”

The playground area features a play structure, climbing wall and sitting areas for parents and park users to enjoy the space. There are 11 trees, 11 shrubs and palms, and over 1,100 ground plants replanted in this space. The glass bridge connecting The CORE’s food court to the playground area will also be opened at the same time.

The City expects other areas of the Devonian Gardens to re-open throughout the year in a phased approach, with the next area opening mid to late spring.

“With any construction project, timelines can vary. Right now we are assessing the condition of each planter individually to determine the repairs required, making those repairs and then moving on to the next one,” says Harrison. “Given what we know about the remaining repair work, we anticipate the Devonian Gardens will fully re-open to the public in late summer 2017.”

The park has been closed since mid-2016 to repair water leaks in some planter beds stemming from the park redevelopment. The repair work is being conducted under warranty with no cost to taxpayers.

Devonian Gardens is a large indoor public park and botanical garden located downtown on the top floor of the CORE retail complex. The gardens include a living wall, Koi ponds, a children’s play area, meeting/functions spaces for special events, and over 550 trees of 18 different species.

For more information on Devonian Gardens and progress of the repairs please visit calgary.ca/devo. Updates will be provided to the media through The City’s Newsroom as we open additional phases throughout the year.

Audio clips and b-roll video footage are available for download for broadcast media use via the media advisory: Devonian Gardens playground re-opens: clips for media use.