The Queensway Terrace North community in west-end Ottawa is looking forward to a renewed public park this year.
The renewal of Frank Ryan Park is set to begin with the resurfacing of the park’s tennis courts. Plans for the renewal of the community building and other facilities were finalized in November, and local residents are hoping the project will move forward in the coming months.
The current park is bracketed by baseball diamonds and backed by a forest of tall, thin trees. Winding pathways lead to two tennis courts located at the corner of Alpine Avenue and Clarenda Street.
A small driveway off of Stuart Kettles Street points towards the Frank Ryan Park field house. The building is surrounded by a playground, wading pool, skating rink, basketball court and six community garden plots.
The exterior bricks of the small building are a weathered white, except for a brightly coloured mural on one side, depicting animals and flowers alongside the words “amour” and “love.”
Changes to the tennis court area will include resurfacing, two new accessible pathways and accessible benches, according to plans posted on the city’s website.
Plans for the renewal of the area around the field house include a new playground, moving the basketball court and more green space with accessible seating options by the pool, according to documents shared at an Oct. 29 consultation meeting posted to YouTube.
The existing field house, which was built in 1961, will be demolished and replaced by a community centre more than double the size of the building today. It will include two multi-purpose meeting rooms, a kitchen, washrooms and change rooms.
The building will be fully accessible and will “pursue high level energy efficiency and sustainability,” according to the consultation materials.
“As you can see, it’s beautiful. It’s exciting,” said Bay Ward Coun. Theresa Kavanagh at the Oct. 29 consultation.
The project is expected to cost around $2 million, according to Louise Cerveny, a City of Ottawa project manager who was also at the October meeting.
Despite community hopes, the mural on the existing field house will not be saved.
“It is lovely, but there’s no way that we can save it,” Cerveny said. “The cost is prohibitive.”
She said it may be possible for a photo of the mural to be displayed elsewhere in the renewed park or building.
The renewal of Frank Ryan Park has been in the works since 2022, according to Cerveny.
While construction on the tennis courts will begin this year, Cerveny said the team will have a “clearer idea” of the next stages of the new building project when it obtains more funding.
Kavanaugh said there hasn’t yet been confirmation of when the new building will be finished.
“It is expensive, so it’s slow to get the funding,” she said. “But it’s worth it.”
