A multi-use aquatics centre would work best on an existing downtown pool site, rather than developing on much costlier green space, says a consultant’s report.
The consulting team of Marshall Tittemore Architects/Marshall Jaunkalns Miller Architects was hired to find out whether it was best to add a swimming complex to the south side of the Recreation Centre or build it on some other land in Red Deer.
While an unused green space would be great for building expansion, would reduce limitations for new parking and avoid any downtown traffic congestion, the consulting team found that Rotary Recreation Park (Recreation Centre) was overall the best site for a centre estimated at 16,500 square metres (177,540 square feet).
City council will be asked on Monday to give its support to the location of the complex, which isn’t expected to be built until 2021, at the earliest.
Cost to develop and build at Rotary Recreation Park are an estimated $83.7 million, compared with $111.9 million at a green field site. Servicing costs are a lot higher for the undeveloped green space.
The report also says that the existing Recreation Centre will require only limited renovations to the ground floor so it can adapt to the new addition. But with a green field site, everything would be built and as a result, at a significantly higher cost.
Operating costs would run about the same at either site.
The consultants say that if a green site was chosen, the city would then have to consider the fate of the current Recreation Centre because operating two facilities would be too great.
“The Rotary Recreation Park showed substantially more positive attributes in all categories,” says the report.
A qualitative summary showed that Rotary Recreation Park was stronger because it was close to the downtown and supports existing businesses, plus it is accessible by foot, bicycle and public transit.
Each site would have a new 25-metre diving tank, 54-metre indoor competition pool and outdoor 25-metre leisure/lap pool.
The report did look at “actual” green sites at Red Deer College, former Park Plaza Theatre, and the Riverlands area downtown but none of these were deemed workable.
The Rotary Recreation Park 50-metre outdoor pool is at the end of its life span and would be shut down for both scenarios, says the report.
The report was done after council approved $200,000 of capital dollars for the Central Alberta Aquatics Centre to move ahead with planning development. The aquatics group is keen to have a 50-metre indoor pool built in Red Deer.
ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com