Before the end of this decade, the plan is to provide the Vancouver Olympic Village with an additional major public park.
The detailed design of that public park, tentatively named “East Park,” was approved by Vancouver Park Board commissioners in a public meeting on Monday evening.
East Park will be achieved on a three-acre (1.2-hectare) triangular-shaped lot located at the northeast corner of the intersection of East 1st Avenue and Ontario Street, situated on the waterfront at the southeast corner of East False Creek — just south of Science World.
Currently, the future park site’s condition is partly a gravel lot for previous residential building construction staging uses, while the remaining area is an informal grassy area.
Existing condition:
Existing condition of East Park at the Olympic Village. (Google Maps)
Existing condition of East Park at the Olympic Village. (Google Maps)
Future condition:
November 2024 approved concept for East Park at the Olympic Village. (Vancouver Park Board)
November 2024 approved concept for East Park at the Olympic Village. (Vancouver Park Board)
Under the approved design, the majority of the new park — specifically the northern area, closer to the water — will be a large grassy open space. This is also intended to be a suitable space for community events and casual gatherings.
A large plaza with a colourful mural painted onto its surface will be built on the east side of Creekside Community Centre.
The southern end of the park, where the park area narrows closest to East 1st Avenue, will be a songbird tree grove with a network of braided paths and shaded seating.
Along the park’s northernmost perimeter, fronting the Seaside Greenway’s pedestrian and cycling pathways, there will be seating areas to enable comfortable places to enjoy the views of the False Creek waterway, downtown Vancouver skyline, and North Shore mountains.
November 2024 approved concept for East Park at the Olympic Village. (Vancouver Park Board)
November 2024 approved concept for East Park at the Olympic Village. (Vancouver Park Board)
November 2024 approved concept for East Park at the Olympic Village. (Vancouver Park Board)
Park Board staff have also noted there will be First Nations considerations to the finishing touches of the park, including Indigenous artwork and wayfinding signage and place naming after First Nations languages. The official name of the park will be identified and announced in a separate naming process.
“The East Park Phase 1 concept plan represents an exciting new vision for this neighbourhood amenity and waterfront destination,” says Park Board Chair Brennan Bastyovanszky.
“The designs introduce access to natural areas and large open spaces to support events as well as a variety of casual uses. I can’t wait to see the first phase of the East Park project come to life and I hope that residents and visitors see their feedback and aspirations reflected in the final plan.”
This is deemed to be the first phase of East Park, as the second phase will deal with the park space north of the Seaside Greenway at the water’s edge.
The design of the second phase will be determined at a later date. Currently, the City of Vancouver has plans to demolish the remaining “Expo Decks” that wrap around the edge of False Creek’s shoreline just north and south of Science World. These concrete decks sitting on top of creosote timber piles were intended to be temporary for the Expo ’86 World’s Fair, but they are now beginning to show their age.
The municipal government intends to begin the process of demolishing these Expo Decks starting in 2027 for full completion by 2032.
Phase 1 and Phase 2 areas of East Park at the Olympic Village. (Vancouver Park Board)
The highlighted era shows the Expo-era decks immediately north and south of Science World, which are slated for demolition. (City of Vancouver)
In Spring 2024, the Park Board’s public consultation on East Park’s design controversially proposed not replacing the Expo Deck south of Science World, which has been a highly popular public space over the water for viewing the waterway and skyline for nearly 40 years. The wrap-around decks also serve to provide large spectator areas for viewing water-based events, such as the annual Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival.
Instead, the Park Board previously proposed public enjoyment of the waterfront would be pushed much further south to accommodate a new rocky intertidal zone for marine habitats at this southeasternmost corner of False Creek. The existing trees close to the water would remain, with the Seaside Greenway’s new pedestrian and cycling pathways (seawall) through the area placed south of the tree line — effectively creating both a physical and visual barrier compared to today’s configuration.
Upon the approval of the design of the first phase of East Park, Park Board staff state that for the future second phase, they still intend to create “a green and lush habitat at the shoreline, [which] will commence following the completion of ongoing engineering studies for the deck and foreshore area.”
The first phase of building East Park could begin in late 2026 and reach completion by the end of 2028. No timeline has been established for the second phase at water’s edge.
November 2024 approved concept for East Park at the Olympic Village. (Vancouver Park Board)
November 2024 approved concept for East Park at the Olympic Village. (Vancouver Park Board)
November 2024 approved concept for East Park at the Olympic Village. (Vancouver Park Board)
Coinciding with the construction of the park’s first phase will be changes to the entire stretch of Ontario Street along the west side of the park. A new purpose-built Ontario Greenway will be built to greatly improve north-south connections reaching the Seaside Greenway at False Creek, with new separate pathways for pedestrians and cyclists fronting the park.
East Park is a key public space prescribed and stipulated in the City’s 2007 Southeast False Creek Official Development Plan (SFCODP). Upon the completion of this park, the 2010-built Olympic Village neighbourhood will be wedged by two major parks — Hinge Park to the west and East Park to the east.
In April 2024, the provincial government committed $150 million toward building the long-envisioned Olympic Village elementary school on a parcel of informal grassy area at Hinge Park, slated for a future school as outlined in the SFCODP. If all goes as planned, the four-storey building opening in Fall 2029 will have a capacity for up to 630 elementary students and a rooftop childcare facility.