A NEW park, with an old name, will emerge in central Wodonga before Christmas.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The city’s council this week awarded three tenders totalling $1,133,470 for a fresh Richardson Park on the northern side of Elgin Boulevard in front of the former railway station.
A green space on the southern side of the roadway has been known as Richardson Park for decades but is now up for sale under the council’s CBD West project.
Federal government money is bankrolling the new park with an original allocation of $950,000.
However, after tendered project costs came back at $1,497,452 the council convinced state planning body Development Victoria to increase the construction budget to $1.12 million.
To meet the shortfall, some original elements of the park – retaining walls, amphitheatre and sandpit – have been axed.
Work on the project is due to begin next Monday and be finished by December 14.
Tenders went to Albury’s Stuart Gordon (landscaping), AP Delaney (civil works) and Watters (electrical).
Councillor Kat Bennett said existing car parks would be replaced with bays nearby.
Former mayor John Watson lauded the development.
“It will just be a lovely green heart for our city that will be thumping away,” he said.
“It also represents two generations of Richardson family...(they were) the backbone of this city, droving cattle down from Queensland and they ended up at the Wodonga saleyards which was located not far from there.”
The rest of the money from the federal government’s $2.135 million for the former railway land, $935,000, will go to Sidings Park being delivered by private developer Central Place.