Sticlăriei Park in Bucharest’s District 2 is set to reopen this weekend, after years of neglect that turned the site derelict, District 2 mayor Radu Mihaiu announced.

After cleaning up the site, refurbishment works were carried out, with a focus on not disturbing the species that found a home there, leading to it being dubbed the “second Bucharest delta” after Văcărești Nature Park. 

Public lighting was set up, several benches were added, but the park doesn’t have paved or concrete alleys, Mihaiu explained for Hotnews.ro.

“There were a lot of talks about redoing this park, all sorts of projects. The works started after long discussions, with many NGOs, and we decided on a minimal intervention […] We said we wanted a park that is different from what has been done so far in Bucharest because we need diversity and this is an extraordinary ecosystem; we have all sorts of birds, insects that are not found in other parts of Bucharest. We wanted to keep them, so the intervention was a minimalist one; we wanted to keep the place as natural as possible so that people can see nature in the city,” Mihaiu told Hotnews.ro.

Văcărești Nature Park was a source of inspiration for the refurbishment project, as the banks of the lake and the alleys were not paved with concrete, the mayor said.

The district city hall has been working since summer to clean up the site. The cost of the works amounted to RON 3.4 million (close to EUR 687,000), covering the cleaning up, the public lighting, setting up benches and gravel alleys.

“It’s a different kind of park. We need parks where we can roller-skate, ride a bike, push the stroller, but we also need nature parks, and I think this is what we accomplished here,” Mihaiu said.

The park, scheduled to reopen on Friday, October 22, is located close to the former Pantelimon glass factory, between Basarabia Boulevard and Vergului Road. 

(Photo: Radu Mihaiu Facebook Page)

simona@romania-insider.com