Civic Centre closing for renovations

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This article was published 18/12/2019 (2349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The St. James Civic Centre will be shut down for around a year while the centre undergoes major renovations.

The St. James Civic Centre renewal and expansion project is scheduled to begin in April 2020. The extended closure is needed to repair building systems, such as the HVAC and electrical wiring, as many of the core building systems need to be updated.

Coun. Scott Gillingham (St. James-Brooklands-Weston) said the building has reached the end of its useful life.

“The civic centre is over 50 years old. It’s provided important recreation services for the community of St. James for the last five decades,” Gillingham said. “But the building is old and tired, and it needs upgrading so that it can continue to serve the community for decades to come.”

The project will be completed in two phases. Phase One is renewing the facility, while Phase Two is expanding the facility for the St. James Assiniboia 55+ Centre. The renewal is expected to cost $9.7 million, paid for entirely by the City, while the expansion will cost around $14 million and will be cost-shared by the City, the Province, and the federal government.

The federal funding will be coming from the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. The City has applied for the funding, but they had not received a response at press time.

Gillingham said City staff will be in contact with groups that use the centre, and will assist them with relocating on a temporary basis while the renovations take place. The facility is expected to reopen in June 2021, according to Gillingham.

Connie Newman, director-at-large for the St. James Assiniboia 55+ Centre, said they’ve been waiting on the expansion for a long time.

“I’m frustrated because it’s taking a long time to do this. We need all three levels of government collaborating on this project,” Newman said. “Our (current) space is very restrictive, because of the large number of older adults in the St. James Assiniboia area, we need more space.”

Currently, the 55+ Centre operates out of Deer Lodge Centre, just off of Portage Avenue. Newman said they’ve had a good relationship with Deer Lodge Centre, but in order to offer more programs and services, they need an easily accessible space with more parking.

Gillingham said he’s committed to seeing this project through.

“Prior to the election, I was working on trying to get the (St. James Civic Centre) expanded to accommodate the 55+ Centre. To me this is very important, in fact it’s one of my top priorities for St. James,” Gillingham said. “These projects take time.”

Some of the repairs include fully upgrading the electrical and mechanical systems to comply with current building codes, as well as repairing the arena’s concrete floor, replacing some of the roofing structure and repainting the arena.