Construction of phase two of Duchess Park is expected to begin this spring, following the announcement of $400,000 in provincial funding on Friday.
Prince George MLAs Shirley Bond and Pat Bell announced the funding on behalf of the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development's community recreation grant program.
'It's going to be a great area for the community," Bond said.
Phase 2 of the park, located adjacent to Duchess Park secondary school, will see the development of an accessible playground, hard-surface tennis court, softball backstop, outdoor amphitheater, mini-bike park, walking trails, trees and other improvements.
"This is amazing news for the City of Prince George and especially this neighbourhood," Mayor Shari Green said. "It will include an accessible playground, which will be the first of its kind in the community."
There are an estimated 1,000 children in the city who are living with disabilities which makes it difficult to use conventional playground equipment, Green said.
"It's certainly a great project," Green added.
Funding for the park development was approved in the city's 2012 capital financial plan. The city projected the total cost of the project at $900,000, with $624,000 initially anticipated to come from provincial grants.
City manager of parks and solid waste Flavio Viola said now that the provincial funding has been announced, plans will be adjusted to fit the budget.
The city has $250,000 set aside in capital reserves from the completion of phase one of the park, Viola said.
"We'll do what we can with the budget we have," he said.
Work on the upgrades is expected to begin in spring, Viola said, and will likely take the majority of the summer to complete."
"We're hoping to have everything wrapped up this year," he said.
In her announcement, Bond said the creation of the park was the result of a partnership between the City of Prince George, provincial government and School District 57. In 2009 the three parties agreed to a land-swap arrangement to facilitate the creation of the Canadian Cancer Society's Kordyban Lodge on the former site of Alward Park.
SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT
During the same announcement Bell and Bond also presented $287,760 to the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George for the creation of the Willow River East Line Activity Centre.
The proposed community hall and gymnasium will be located in the rural community of Willow River and serve residents in surrounding areas, including Giscome.
Regional district director Kevin Dunphy said area residents raised almost $160,000 to fund the project.
"I want to thank the people in our community who worked so hard to... raise a significant amount of money," Dunphy said.
"With this new centre, it's going to provide all our groups in our area a place to meet."
Dunphy said the gymnasium will serve local sports groups, which previously used the Giscome elementary school gym prior to the school's closure.
Currently the only community facility available in the area is a 450-square-foot community house in Willow River.
Area resident Denise MacDonald said the facility will allow families the ability to participate in sports and activities in the community, instead of having to commute into Prince George.
"The driving can be prohibitive for some families," she said.
