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The city of Vancouver, Wash., last week landed $1 million from Washington State to begin construction on its planned Waterfront Park.

The money will go toward the first phase of an eight-acre public park and trail extension, but city officials view the grant as a key step toward the construction of a gigantic, mixed-use development that has been in the works for years.

, along with the city, Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation, and the state, is planning a 32-acre waterfront complex that includes up to 1.2 million square feet of offices; 400,000 square feet of retail; up to 3,300 residential units, and a large hotel.

The upcoming park construction will open new riverfront access from the Columbia River to Vancouver’s downtown, which Mayor Timothy Leavitt says will help leverage $1 billion in private investment for the larger waterfront redevelopment.

鈥淭his is really a smart move by the State because it offers a critical piece of public financing that will be leveraged to create hundreds of immediate local construction jobs,鈥� Leavitt said in a statement.

The first phase of park construction is not expected to go out to bid until the end of 2013 due to complex in-water work permitting, according to Alisa Pyszka, economic development division manager for the city.

Berger Abam is leading the engineering and planning of the park, and PWL Partnership is kicking off its final design work.