Budapest City Center getting a new park

The construction of the underground garage will begin soon. The establishment of a new park on the industrial area between the Millenaris Park and Margit Boulevard is also among the plans.  More than 300 saplings, extended lawn, significant surface of water, a modern playground and a special green wall will await visitors.

According to PestBuda.hu, the construction of the underground garage in the Millenaris Park will begin this week, and the whole park will be extended from the aspects of both territory and function by the end of the next year, minister of national economy Mihály Varga told MTI.

The restoration of the area between Millenaris Park and Margit Boulevard has begun three years ago with the demolition of the former office building. It is always a time-consuming process to rehabilitate the areas of rust.

They will tidy up the place

Mihály Varga emphasized that he understands the impatience of the local people, and he cannot wait to spend some quiet hours with his wife and children in the completed park. He added: it is worth to remember the desperate situation in the middle of Buda. It disturbed the people of Buda, but those in charge did not dare to take action.

“But it is better this way, otherwise a plaza or a luxury office building would stand here, as there were plans for this. Then the Fidesz government decided to clean up here. First the ownerships had to be made clear, which was not a simple case. The demolition of the building had to happen in the crowded neighborhood, and in the case of one of the industrial building’s – called the Melegpörgető – walls thicker than one meter had to be torn down with a special technique”, Mihály Varga stated. He added that the shipping of the enormous amount of clink took more than a year, and the permission of the plans were also delayed, but Millenáris Széllkapu Nonprofit Ltd. does not need any excuses.

“We are close to the finish line: the constructor will arrive this week and the construction of the underground garage begins. If everything goes as planned, the park will also be completed by the end of the next year, and we might enjoy the extended functions of Millenaris Park, walking among green trees by the spring of 2019”, as he claimed.

The birth of a new park

The minister highlighted that this will be the first big green park in the heart of Budapest since a long time. More than 300 saplings, extended lawn, significant surface of water, a modern playground and a special green wall will await visitors. The traffic of Fény Street will go underground, so the new park will become one with the renewed Millenaris.

The most significant novelty of the park will be the large green wall of plants. The plant containers will be placed onto 20 meters tall and 100 meters long steel structures, and they will be covered by vines.  The new construction will give a nice three-dimensional green look to the area, according to the plans. Each level of the structure will be accessible for pedestrians, and they will serve as viewpoints upon the park and its immediate environment, as Mihály Varga detailed. The park will be closed for the night, but the traffic between Lövőház Street and Kis Rókus Street will be constant thanks to the underground passage.

Mihály Varga added that a new underground garage will also be built under the surface of the park, which will greatly ease the parking problems of the area. There will be one entrance – from the direction of Kis Rókus Street – and two exits – one towards Margit Boulevard, another towards Kis Rókus Street – to the park. The garage and the surface will be connected by an elevator for pedestrians.  The project uses modern solutions: a part of humidity will be collected and used for watering, the buildings of the park will have green roofs, and a lot of sun collectors will be installed. Moreover, one of the centers of the e-mobility program promoting electric cars will also be in the new Millenaris Park. Twelve chargers will be available for users of electric cars along with an information center promoting e-mobility.

It was downright haunted

Mihály Varga also mentioned that the area was neglected for a long time, but the basic engineering work has already been done. The revitalization of Millenaris will begin during the summer, and it will affect the green areas. After the technical and energy renovations, the buildings will also be renewed. Millenaris Park will also serve as a multifunctional venue for events, and an innovational enterprise center will be established in one of the buildings.

Varga highlighted that the balancing of the expenses was an important aspect of Széllkapu project. The construction of the underground garage was delayed because the first offers greatly exceeded the available funds. The total expenses of the investment were about 55 million euros. However, the independent analysis shows that the extension of Millenaris Park will pay back by 2024.

The rehabilitation of the 2.5 hectares of green area is an affective and rapid return investment. Mihály Varga claimed it as an important message.

Photo: MTI

Ce: bm

Source: PestBuda.hu