George Little Park will be in the midst of construction for the next little while, with work still needing to be done on the new performance area and pathway.

The performance structure on the corner of Park Ave. and Emerson St. is already in place, but the concrete floor needs to be completed and a roof needs to be put on. No walls will need to be put up, as it is an open structure with no sides.

“We’re pressing forward on a week by week basis given the weather,” said Rob Schibli, a design technologist with the city’s development services.

He explains that if there is deep frost or too much snow in the ground, work will have to stop and restart again in the spring.

Improvements began earlier this fall, with work on the south half of Emerson St. to turn it into a Market St. for the new Farmers Market location next year.

The old bandshell was also torn down and the new performance area/plaza is being built.

Some plantings have already gone in the ground, but Schibli said the trees planned to go in will probably not go in until the spring.

“There’s some high value work to be done yet, but we’re confident we’ll have it done,” he said, speaking of the roof on the performance area and the electrical work.

Other work still to be done is bench and light installation along the new pathway and plaza. The paved walking path was completed last week.

Wayne Watson Construction is the general contractor for the project.

The park improvements cost in the neighbourhood of $1.2 million; the city has pitched in $300,000 for this work and receives a matching grant from the provincial government for its spirit square initiative.

The federal government has also contributed $600,000 to the park through its community adjustment fund aimed at immediately creating jobs.

The park was originally scheduled to be finished by the beginning of November but there was a delay in tendering out the job while waiting for design drawings. The design was also modified to stay within budget restrictions.

“(The tender) came out late for the construction season,” Schibli said.

There is no estimated completion date for the park at this time, but the work needs to be finished by March 1, 2010 to fulfill grant funding terms.

The community adjustment fund grant had a completion date of March 31, 2010, but receipts were originally supposed to go to the province for its spirit square grant at the end of October of 2009.

The province has since extended its grant to March 31 of next year.