Winnipeggers are going to have to wait a little bit longer to check out Canada’s Diversity Gardens at Assiniboine Park.
The Assiniboine Park Conservancy announced Tuesday construction delays are pushing back the multi-million dollar project’s anticipated opening from next summer to sometime in 2021.
The conservancy’s Laura Cabak said crews need more time to properly install the 6,000 square-metre building’s specialized translucent roof.
“We require warm weather for the installation of the roof, just due to the unique nature of the material,” explained Cabak of the roof, built from a lightweight plastic-like material that can withstand extreme temperatures as well as snow and wind.
“We had hoped to get it installed before this winter but have recently been advised that some additional adjustments to the cable system that supports the roof are required.
“This is a very precise process and it’s going to take some time.”
Cabak couldn’t say exactly when in 2021 Canada’s Diversity Garden will open, but said the conservancy should have a better idea of the timeline by next spring.
Canada Diversity Gardens is the final major phase of the redevelopment of Assiniboine Park, and is meant to celebrate culture and biodiversity with three external gardens, a main building with tropical plants and a butterfly garden.
- Life in the forest: How Stanley Park’s longest resident survived a changing landscape
- ‘Love at first sight’: Snow leopard at Toronto Zoo pregnant for 1st time
- Buzz kill? Gen Z less interested in coffee than older Canadians, survey shows
- Carbon rebate labelling in bank deposits fuelling confusion, minister says
The entire project will span roughly 35 acres in the south east corner of Assiniboine Park.
The cost of the project has jumped from the original $50 million estimated in 2012 to the most recent estimate of just shy of $98 million.
In July the conservancy went to the city to ask to have a city loan for the project increased from $17 million to $20 million and to have the deadline for repayment of that loan extended from December 2020 to December 2023.
Cabak said construction will continue over the summer and winter and once the roof is installed, the next step will see the building’s environmental systems added before biomes are planted.
Once complete Canada’s Diversity Gardens will be home to 16,500 plants indoors, including 350 species of tropical and Mediterranean plants. Outdoors there are another 29,000 plants expected to be planted including 600 trees.
Canada’s Diversity Gardens will also be home to 200 butterfly chrysalis received bi-weekly from Central America.
RELATED VIDEO: Goodbye to Conservatory, Hello to Diversity Gardens: Changes at Assiniboine Park
Comments