These trying times notwithstanding, Tacurongnons from all walks of life and ages would soon find a greener, healthier, and safer place to converge without moving away from the heart of the city.
The historic Magsaysay Park, while currently houses the Children’s Playground, is slated to make room for more amenities in a total makeover that is touted to be the Magsaysay Park Redevelopment Project.
Originally, the park sits on a 15, 990 square meters area, but it will be expanded to utilize the road-right-of-way of Quezon Avenue creating a new total area of 18, 354 square meters.
Estimated to cost more or less P50 million, the project is designed to house the Quezon Avenue Food Park, a central park, an amphitheater, a senior citizens’ park, board games attraction, Larong Pinoy area, board games lounge, a sports zone, and the Great Wall of Birds.
Other features also include a pedestrian lane, a covered walk, a bicycle lane, and a parking area.
Prior to the pandemic, the project has already completed its first phase, which is the construction of the Quezon Avenue Food Park along with its 24 concrete food stalls and costing Php 9,189,165.00.
Phase II focused on the construction of the Senior Citizens’ Park, the board games lounge, Central Park, and the Board Games Attraction. This phase costed Php 14, 399, 822.
Currently, Phase III is seeing the improvement of the Children’s Park and the construction of the Great Wall of Birds, an attraction that highlights the Baras Bird Sanctuary wonders. This phase costs Php 12,460,447.
While the city is still currently hard at work fighting against the pandemic, other infrastructure projects have resumed, and none that is more important than the Magsaysay Redevelopment Project that supports the urban greening development program of the government.
A bulk of this endeavor’s funding is sourced through the Department of Budget and Management’s (DBM) Green, Green, Green assistance program, which targets the development of public open spaces and converts them into livable and more sustainable areas of cities.
Morever, for every funding received from the Green, Green, Green program, the city government provides its local counterpart. For instance, Phase I of the redevelopment project utilized Php 8, 189, 165 from the DBM and P 1 million from the city government.
Upon the project’s completion, Tacurongnons can expect permeable pavements, endemic trees, and air purification plants that reduce urban heat and improve the air quality in the vicinity of the park; these on top of the new and more fun park amenities, of course.(YMR, LGUTac-Info)