Construction of a new pool and community centre could begin in 2020 if all goes according to plan.
On Monday, New Westminster city council received an update on the plan for the replacement of Canada Games Pool and Centennial Community Centre. Preliminary estimates indicate the project could cost $100 million, but detailed design work and studies, including environmental and transportation, need to be done to provide a more accurate budget.
“Both of those buildings are starting to age and at the very least would require substantial investments just to keep them going,” Mayor Jonathan Cote said about the existing facilities. “In the end, we felt it was more prudent to move ahead with the renewal of that facility. That has started us down a journey over the last two years to get us to this important point.”
Council has supported in principle a 114,295-square-foot building that would include aquatics, fitness and community spaces.
Council also endorsed a preferred facility concept design and supported building it in a single phase.
Paul Fast, a principal with MCMA Architecture, said there was tremendous input into the public engagement process, which helped determine the types of programming people want to see in the facility.
“You have a very loyal older group of residents that are using the facilities currently, that have been for a very long time, but there’s a gap there in terms of the younger generation that isn’t showing up at your facilities currently in the same numbers that we see in other facilities across the Lower Mainland,” he told council. “What this study tells us, what this survey told us, is those people will be influenced in terms of coming and participating in this facility.”
According to Fast, the facility would have swim areas suitable for leisure swimming, such as a lazy river, lane swimming and competitive swimming.
Looking at future population growth, he said it was determined the facility should be able to accommodate an annual swim count of 500,000 people.
Fast said the site is constrained by a number of factors, including the presence of the fire hall at Sixth and McBride, the Justice Institute at Eighth and McBride and a sewer line that runs through the site.
“Option A doesn’t really allow us enough area without going over that sewer line, so that really knocked Option A off the table,” he said about site studies. “Option B would work from a number of standpoints, except that it displaces Canada Games Pool from Day 1, meaning, you are taking your pool out of operation for two years. Just from talks with your community and with staff, that is a significant price to pay, so that knocked option B off the table.”
The city has endorsed Option C, which allows the existing facilities to remain open during construction. This option may require the recycling depot and all-weather field to be relocated.
The City of New Westminster will seek feedback on the plan from community members and stakeholders starting in January and report back to council in March. While consultation is taking place, work will also be done on various studies and discussions will take place with the Justice Institute about a possible shared parking structure.
“I think we have hit an important milestone with where we are in the recommendation, but we still have a long journey ahead of us,” Cote said.
THE NEW POOL: FAST FACTS
- The new aquatic and community centre would include: a leisure pool for up to 450 people; an aquatics tank; change rooms; a fitness centre; a welcome centre; multipurpose rooms; a child-care facility that would be licensed for up to 37 children; and two high-school-sized basketball gyms. The aquatics tank would have eight 54-metre lanes, two moveable bulkheads, a moveable floor and a one-metre and a three-metre springboard.
- The pool facility would also have two hot pools, a parents viewing area and sauna and steam rooms.
- The site would have 450 parking stalls.
- The building would be about 114,300 square feet.
- The preliminary budget estimate for the project is around $100 million. The city is doing work needed to prepare grant bids to senior governments to assist with funding.
- More than 1,870 residents and stakeholders took part in the public engagement process in 2016.
- 59 per cent of residents said they’d be more likely to visit a new pool, with this increasing to 62 per cent among people aged 18 to 34.
- Swimming lessons (34 per cent), length swimming for fitness (32 per cent) and leisure swimming (22 per cent) are the most popular future priorities.
- Based on a projected population of 100,000 residents, it’s expected the pool would have an annual swim count of 500,000 people.
