Kelowna breaks ground on new DeHart Park in Lower Mission

Kelowna's newest park

A new community park is coming for Kelowna residents living in the Lower Mission.

Mayor Tom Dyas and several city councillors met at the site of the new DeHart Park Wednesday morning to break ground on Kelowna’s newest community park.

Once complete at the corner of DeHart Rd. and Gordon Dr., it will feature a wide variety of amenities, including soccer fields, basketball courts, pickleball and tennis courts, walking trails, a bike park, a dog park and more.

“It’s extremely important just for our community to have access to these within our neighbourhoods and to be able to move about our community in an easier fashion,” said Dyas.

"There was a whole community engagement to look at building this design and today it brings us joy to announce that we are going to open this park and that it is now under construction.”

Nearly a decade in the making, DeHart Park is set to be completed sometime this year and will cost the city roughly $8.6 million, funded through the Parks Development Cost Charges Program.

“This has been a part of our vision as administration to make sure that we are delivering on the infrastructure that our growing city needs," said Derek Edstrom, city divisional director of partnerships and investments.

"More than anything it is our commitment to actually deliver on infrastructure that we know our citizens want and desire. This is one of those pieces of community parks where we are going to have citizens from the area come and have a place to recreate. That’s really important for our community."

Placed between two schools — Anne McClymont and Dorothea Walker — the City of Kelowna expects this park to become a place of recreation for thousands of Lower Mission residents, including students, families and their furry friends.

"If you think about how many components there are to this park, it really will be a place of animation and a place where the community will come together. I think it will have the vibrancy that our community desires in our parks," said Edstrom.