Centennial Garden Renewal. Restoring a Village landmark. Together.
With fall underway, we’re happy to share the latest on the Centennial Garden restoration in the Village Green.
Earlier this year, consultations, both Councillor King’s in-person session and the City’s online survey with nearly 300 visits, showed strong support for a restoration that is accessible, resilient, honours the Garden’s design, while restoring it for generations to come. Based on this feedback, the City gave the green light for CSW Landscape Architects to prepare detailed drawings and tender documents.
Over the summer and continuing into the fall, CSW has been working on finalizing the tender documents. Once complete, they will oversee contractor bidding and selection. The Foundation will then enter into the contract, subject to City approval. While construction had originally been anticipated for this fall, it is now more likely in spring or summer 2026, with the restoration work lasting four to six weeks.
Given that the Village Green and the Centennial Garden sit between several schools, safety remains a top priority. The tender will include a clear safety plan: deliveries scheduled outside drop-off and pick-up times, clear signage, flag persons, and coordination with the City on additional measures if needed. We’ve connected with our schools and will share updates with them - as well as with neighbours - as soon as a contractor and schedule are confirmed.
This restoration builds on more than a decade of neighbour-led efforts and collaboration. Designed by Humphrey Carver in 1967 to mark Canada’s centennial, the Centennial Garden was created as a place of calm and community. That kind of space matters. Neighbours walking their dogs. Children on their way to school. Sometimes the littlest ones sitting cross-legged in outdoor class or discovering nature among the plantings. That’s community, and that’s what shared greenspaces like this give us.
The Foundation is grateful for the leadership of the Centennial Garden Revitalization Committee, with:
Honourary Chairs: Adrian Burns, Gordon Cudney, and Peter Nicholson
Chair: Marilyn Collette
The Rockcliffe Park Foundation and the Rockcliffe Park Residents Association (RPRA) continue to work closely with the City as part of the City’s Centennial Garden Working Group, alongside the Centennial Garden Revitalization Committee and City planners.
What’s Coming
The renewed Garden will include (see link below for the concept drawings):
Restored stonework
Improved accessibility and climate resilience
New plantings and benches
An additional boulder recognizing the creation of Nunavut
The Foundation is proud to support this thoughtful, neighbour-led renewal of a much-loved greenspace and historic garden - a restoration that honours the past and invests in the future.
Greenspaces like this don’t just happen. They’re sustained by neighbours who care. Thank you to everyone who’s played a part so far - and to those helping shape what comes next.