New recreation centre comes with hefty price tag

New recreation centre comes with hefty price tag

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By: Sandra Bolan

There are a lot of features planned for Bradford’s proposed new recreation centre, but all of those features cost money.

Last week, Bradford West Gwillimbury council got its first look at four concept drawings for the building, which will include two ice rinks with seating for 500 in each, a gymnasium and an aquatic centre that will include an eight-lane, 25-metre pool, a learning/therapy pool, leisure pool and slide.


The recreation centre will also be outfitted with:

— male, female and family change rooms;
— two locker areas, each outfitted with six team rooms, one officials’ room and a first aid room;
— administration offices;
— arena services that include ice surfacing, refrigeration, electrical and loading;
— a lobby that is two stories high, with viewing to both arenas and the aquatic area;
— a concession area, reception area, bus and car drop off into the lobby;
— a youth/senior room and hospitality room;
— gymnasium lockers;
— a running/walking track located above the gym.

Of the four options presented to council by Salter Pilon and Lett Architects, it was the 145,000-square-foot design that put the ice pads end-to-end and allowed for viewing into the arenas from the public space that council liked the most.

The cost for this option is estimated by MHPM Project Managers to be anywhere from $36,250,000, at $250 per square foot, to $43,500,000, or $300 a square foot, before soft costs.

“Because of the size of the building, all of the soft costs related to it are such big numbers,” Bill Lett of Lett Architects said, noting the soft costs may tack an additional $1 million to $1.5 million onto the final price tag.

“If we don’t have a budget to support (the recreation centre as designed), we would have to look at dropping off some of the programs or reducing the building’s size,” Mr. Lett said. “It is those rooms, like the fitness rooms and multipurpose room, the walking track (where we would cut) to reduce the scope of the project.”

However, reducing what will be offered at the recreation centre is something Mr. Lett cautioned against.

“Let’s not get excited by this math. Let’s go back and take a look,” Bradford West Gwillimbury Mayor Doug White said.

“The community is so excited about this, I don’t want them to be under-whelmed.”
“I really caution against ... pairing down on the sizes of the rooms — you don’t get the functionality out of them,” Mr. Lett said.

If the funds are not available for the project, another option considered was building the recreation centre in two phases.

“The problem with phasing is once you get this done, you’ll have 36 other projects that need your attention and it will be decades before you get back to it,” Bradford West Gwillimbury chief administrative officer Jay Currier cautioned.

The municipality is undergoing a fundraising feasibility study that will provide more information on how much can be raised for this project.

Although council has not chosen a design and none of the presented designs were final renderings, changes are already being brought forth, in particular to the seating arrangements of the two arenas.

“(Junior hockey) franchises won’t come to certain divisions if you can’t provide the seating,” Mike O’Hare, manager of facilities, parks and cemeteries, said, adding he would like one arena to have 800 to 1,000 structured seats and the other to have bench seating for about 500.

“We have the Junior As here with the Rattlers and I’m looking forward to the Junior B coming back.”

Council’s next step is to look at the budget and designs again before making any final decisions.

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