Finally, the third and completing phase of Emery Barnes Park is finished, and the Downtown has a new nearly-a-city-block park to hang out in. Since it opened in 2003 its been busy, the new play equipment and off-leash dog area completed in 2010 made it much more popular, and the final phase is just open to complete the park. The park itself hasn’t cost a fortune to build – around $3m, but the land it sits on has cost ten times that, and the city has acquired it piece by piece over many years. When a developer gets a building permit they pay a Development Cost Levy to the city. In Downtown South the levies can support things like parks, childcare and social housing. The cost of the park in part came from the levies collected in the area since the early 1990s. So all the new development contributed to the cost of the new park, and the area gets a much needed breathing space.