Built on remediated industrial land in the burgeoning West Don Lands neighborhood, this 7.3 hectare park was designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates and opened in 2013. Bordered on three sides by urban infrastructure, the park replaced warehouses and abattoirs associated with the William Davies’ pork packing plant established on the site in 1879 and demolished in the 1990s.
Located along the west bank of the Don River near its mouth, nearly half the park sits atop a ‘flood protection landform,’ a massive flood mitigation feature composed of fill added to the site’s former elevation. The landform topographically divides the park in two. The western area occupies 3.6 hectares and is intended for active and passive recreation. In the northern part of this section, a concentric network of curvilinear footpaths threads through more than 120 species of (mostly) native plants and 700 individual trees including maples, red oaks, birches, pines, and tulips. A raised walkway crosses an expansive marsh, which spreads among the woodlands and is home to an array of aquatic animals and birds. To the south, across a large central lawn, a multi-purpose Modernist pavilion, designed by Maryann Thompson Architects, is equipped with solar panels, an outdoor fireplace, and seating. Offering unrivaled panoramic views of the city, the pavilion sits atop a hill overlooking the play area with water features and sand pits, which are circumscribed by trees and large boulders. A toboggan hill runs into an athletic field located to the southwest. The eastern area of the park occupies 3.2 hectares that form an arcing berm along the Don River. Envisioned as urban prairie grassland, it's crossed by meandering trails, and comprises upland and lowland meadows, with the latter playing an important role in the park’s stormwater recycling system.
