The Town of Richmond Hill has put forward two park options for the David Dunlap Observatory (DDO) lands, and residents like what they see from both, following a public workshop held at the Elgin Barrow Arena in April.
“Option A, David Dunlap Observatory Park, has a greater focus on the observatory as a key draw with a planetarium and/or an interpretative centre, so people can understand more fully what they are seeing, ” said Greg Warren, a landscape architect at Janet Rosenberg & Studio (JRS).
He added that a centre for public outreach and education on astronomy would be included.
By contrast, Option B, David Dunlap Discovery Park, is focused on urban agriculture, but the observatory will remain one of the attractions.
“It celebrates discovery — past, present and future,” Warren said.
JRS, the architecture firm behind the Garden of Light at Luminato’s Festival Hub this June and the redevelopment of the Honest Ed’s site in Toronto, studied several other successful parks in open spaces upon being retained by the town in 2014 to develop options for the DDO area.
Option A, the observatory vision, aspires to transform the site into a GTA-wide tourist attraction boasting astronomy-themed features and other park elements: a visitors’ centre in the historic Elms Lea Farmhouse, a star path, and a solar system or other astronomy-themed maze. Option B, the discovery park, however, would be more Richmond Hill–oriented and include a museum and a heritage orchard as well as an experimental tree nursery. A pedestrian and cycling bridge is in both plans, among other common elements.
In 2012, the town paid developer Corsica Development Inc. $19.5 million for the David Dunlap Observatory “panhandle’’ lands. The 4.9-hectare site, which the town had been leasing, includes the David Dunlap Observatory Park and the Elvis Stojko Arena. The rink would be supplemented with an indoor recreation facility under Option B and an outdoor skating rink and tennis court with Option A.
“The final vision won’t necessarily be precisely Option A or Option B,” said Patrick Lee, the town’s director of policy planning.
“This is one of the most important public spaces in the GTA. Whatever we land on, it will be a great site,” said Warren.
