Toronto Star

A river doesn't run through it, but one will run by it. When Don River Park is finished in 2008, it will be the focal point of a new neighbourhood to be built at the bottom of the city, on land long since abandoned by its original users. Designed by New York-based Michael Van Valkenburgh, whose credits include the acclaimed Teardrop Park in Manhattan, the seven-hectare, $17 million green space is a work in progress. But already it seems certain to become more than just a neighbourhood hangout. Presenting his plans to the Toronto Waterfront Design Review Panel this week, he made it clear he has high hopes for the project. Though Van Valkenburgh admitted it's a struggle to keep up with engineers, who have begun putting the substructure in place, he spoke with obvious enthusiasm about the scheme.