Richmond’s newest park opens in the Alexandra neighbourhood

08 June 2022

The Alexandra Park in the City of Richmond’s east Cambie neighbourhood officially opened on Wednesday, June 8, bringing a leisure, recreational and ecological oasis to the neighbourhood. Council members cut the ribbon and toured the site with residents and students from nearby Tomsett Elementary.

“Dynamic parks such as this, which provide amenities for residents to play sports, enjoy a new playground, walk their dogs or simply enjoy nature right here in the City Centre are key to making Richmond the most livable and appealing community in Canada” said Mayor Malcolm Brodie. “The main objectives of the Alexandra Neighbourhood Park design were to preserve the natural character of the existing site, meeting community needs for active recreational opportunities and addressing sustainability and environmental features”.

The City would like to acknowledge the Province of British Columbia for its $1 million grant funding support, obtained through the Community Economic Resilience stream of the Community Economic Recovery Infrastructure Program, which significantly contributed to the construction this park.

“Improved outdoor spaces like the Alexandra Neighbourhood Park allow us to unwind, connect with friends and play outside,” said Nathan Cullen, Minister of Municipal Affairs. “The Province of British Columbia is proud to partner with the City to make our urban communities more livable for people in Richmond.”

The park’s ecological features include incorporating existing established trees, shrubs and undergrowth; adding over 80 new trees and over 2,300 new shrubs and perennials; as well as groundcover plants, wildflower meadows and a new storm water retention pond. The meadows offer important foraging opportunities for resident barn owls in the area.

The park shares its location with the City’s internationally recognized and award-winning Alexandra District Energy Utility – a low carbon energy plant and underground renewable energy source. Renewable energy is extracted from the earth at the location from over 300 vertical boreholes, each 250 feet deep, using ground-source heat pumps and geo-exchange technology. These provide heating and cooling for over 2.5 million square feet of space in the surrounding buildings. The colourful utility plant also offers public washrooms, an overhang for rain shelter for park users, along with nesting boxes for local barn owls.

In addition, the park hosts the City’s newest public artwork, Pergola Garden, which will serve as an impressive focal point and a place for people to gather and build community under a canopy of climbing plants in the years to come.

In conjunction with existing and future sections of the Alexandra Greenway to the north and south, this park contributes to a continuous green corridor between the Garden City Lands and Cambie Road contributing to pedestrian and recreational opportunities in the neighbourhood.

The park is located at 9600 Odlin Road. For more information, visit www.richmond.ca/parks/parks.