‘Classy’ river terraces in heart of the city
A purple heart boardwalk and rock salt-textured concrete promise to set the Victoria on the River terraces apart.
The Hamilton City Council project – turning an old central city car park into a riverside oasis – is nearing completion.
Purple heart is a South American hardwood used for decking timber. It is a faded brown colour when first cut but adopts a purple hue with age.
Hamilton Mayor Andrew King said it’s the sort of detail that lifts the look and feel of the riverside park.
‘‘We want it to look really classy. This is our premium park right in the middle of town so it’s connecting commerce with the river and amenity and we want it to look really nice and really styley,’’ King said.
Construction on Victoria on the River started in April and while there were some delays during the winter, King said workers have pushed through and are making good progress.
The terraced area is 95 per cent complete and timber furniture is being installed.
About 400sqm of concrete with a rock salt finish has been poured and about 180m2 of basalt paving has been installed.
Excavators tore out the original car park asphalt, concrete and steel reinforcing. More than
3500sqm of contaminated soil was removed from the site.
More than 4000 metres of timber, including the purple heart, was brought in for the boardwalk –
20,000 screws were used in the boardwalk construction.
A crane was used to install 274 precast concrete panels to form the terraces and create the open spaces for the public.
The park, which was once the site of the old Waikato Times building, will double as a theatre and performance space. Businesses on the edge of the park will be able to open shopfronts to the public space, King said.
‘‘We are also really pleased with the building next door to the park. That’s going to be lovely as well and it will all feed into the park and the park will feed into the restaurants and cafes that are going in there.’’
Victoria on the River is expected to open early next year.