Montreal's executive committee has approved the purchase of 9.8 hectares of land in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue for the city's planned Great Western Park.



The land will be purchased in partnership with real-estate developer Grilli for $5.1 million.





The land purchase is the city's first acquisition to create "a unique, great park that will contribute to the quality of life of the population of the Montreal agglomeration," said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante in a statement.



The 30-square-kilometre park in Montreal's West Island and Île-Bizard would be about nine times bigger than New York's Central Park. It would connect the existing Anse-à-l'Orme, Bois-de-L'Île-Bizard, Bois-de-la-Roche, Cap-Saint-Jacques and Rapides-du-Cheval-Blanc nature parks.