East Park – Vancouver’s Olympic Village is Getting a New Park

At a Park Board meeting in November, Commissioners approved designs for the first phase of East Park, a new waterfront destination park on False Creek in Vancouver’s Olympic Village.

East Park
Vancouver’s Olympic Village is Getting a New Park

The concept for the 1.2-hectare park is shaped by the Guiding Principles for the design of parks in Northeast False Creek, by input from First Nations, and thousands of community members during two rounds of engagement, held in fall 2022 and spring 2024.

Concept Plan Features:

• A songbird tree grove with a network of braided paths and shaded seating areas to offer a tranquil retreat for park users.
• A large level lawn at the heart of the park designed to provide space for small-scale community events and casual gatherings.
• A flexible active zone adjacent to the Creekside Community Centre to support additional fitness and recreation programming opportunities.
• A variety of seating areas to offer accessible and comfortable places to enjoy the views of the water and mountains.
• Separated walking and cycling paths to provide safe and accessible routes along the water and throughout the park, connecting neighbourhoods, parks, and key community destinations.

Following collaboration with the Local First Nations, the plan also includes opportunities for cultural recognition, education, and visual representation, including Indigenous artwork to support inter-generational knowledge transfer, and hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim languages woven throughout the area through wayfinding, signage, and place naming.

Next steps

Following Board approval, construction of Phase 1 is scheduled to begin on the south side of the project site in late 2026 and complete in late 2028. The shoreline condition and connections to the waterfront will be designed and delivered in Phase 2. Additionally, City of Vancouver Engineering Services is refining a concept for upgrading the Ontario Greenway as it connects with East Park.

Phase 2 of the East Park project, which includes the creation of a green and lush habitat at the shoreline, will commence following the completion of ongoing engineering studies for the deck and foreshore area.

An official park name will be identified and announced through a separate naming process.

A new waterfront destination

The new park is identified in the Southeast False Creek Official Development Plan (2007) as one of three major parks envisioned as both a neighbourhood amenity and waterfront destination. The park will serve the more than 12,000 residents living within a 10-minute walk of the site, 34,000 residents living within a kilometre, as well as all those who visit, work, and play in the area.