Burnham Park Lake (PNA photo)
As Burnham Park undergoes redevelopment, its planners assure that no single tree will be uprooted.
Arch. Renato Heray, a member of the technical working group behind the development plan, gave this promise as he shared the plan to the city’s executive and legislative officers.
“As it is now, Burnham Park is already beautiful,” he said. “We just need to enhance the existing facilities and improve some portions.”
Adopting a Cordillera theme, priority development projects in the 34-hectare park are the Skating Rink, Orchidarium, Children’s Playground, Ibaloi Garden, Melvin Jones Football Ground, and the setting up of the Creative Arts Center to replace the Old Auditorium.
Still up as other possible features include sports facilities for adults in the Children’s Playground like bars for calisthenics training, archery training range, training areas for softball, badminton and indigenous games within the Melvin Jones ground.
The master plan still awaits other suggestions such as those coming from city officials and the public through social media prior to forwarding it to the city council for endorsement.
Public opinion pushes for more trees grown within the park and that no tree shall be cut to give way to the new plan.
Baguio City is looking at a P350 million financial backing from the Department of Budget and Management for the redevelopment of the park, which is still on top of the P20 million landscaping budget from the State-owned Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA). (Jojo Mangahis)