Alexandra Park expansion

Update: The construction of this project is complete! On June 24, 2023 the Uptown West Neighbourhood Association held an opening celebration with funding from the City of Waterloo Neighbourhood Matching Fund. View photos from the Alexandra Park opening.

Project background:

Alexandra Park is located at 47 Alexandra Avenue, a very short distance to uptown Waterloo. It is bounded by Alexandra Avenue to the north, William Street West to the south and residential development to the east and west. It is the uptown west neighbourhood’s primary neighbourhood park.

In 2017, the city purchased 46 and 48/50 William Street West properties with the intent to expand the park. Existing buildings on these properties were demolished in 2018 and the city. The expansion of Alexandra Park offers a unique opportunity to re-imagine an urban park in the heart of one of Waterloo’s historic neighbourhoods.

Park Design Unveiling

Thank you to everyone who contributed their thoughts and ideas for this project. We are so excited to unveil the final design! Your feedback was instrumental in creating a beautiful park space that is welcoming, inviting and a reflection of your love of the area.

Normally we would present the design in person, however due to the pandemic, we are unveiling the design in video format.

Video #1: Alexandra Park public engagement update - This video captures our progress and how we came to this point in the project.

Video #2: Final design concept - This video is the official unveiling of the final design!

If you have questions about the final design, please submit them to Andrea Bazler or Daniel Waters directly.

Public Art Revealed

Thank you to all who contributed ideas and stories for Public Art in Alexandra Park. An artist and art piece have been selected for the forest area of the park.

We are pleased to announce the award of the Alexandra Park Public Art call to artists Sandra Dunn and Mark Resmer. The work is comprised of five over-sized, birdhouse-like structures. These structures will be placed throughout the wooded area of the park. Two of the five pieces will be located along the paved walkway to ensure that the pieces are accessible. These small and colourful structures will take on the look of dollhouses. The pieces will be suggestive of wooden block constructions and will echo the shapes of homes in the surrounding neighbourhood.

The giant birdhouses bridge the architecture of the neighbourhood and the natural life that exists in pockets of urban greenspaces. The artists describe the birdhouses as “an expression of community caretaking - we feed birds, we count birds, we invite them into our urban backyards. We can’t train them, they come and go with the seasons and they wake us up before the sun rises.”

We plan to install these beautiful pieces in 2022.

This project is part of our 2019-2022 strategic plan, specifically: Healthy community and resilient neighbourhoods. To learn more about our strategic plan, visit waterloo.ca/strategicplan.