Private fitness centre planned for Bridgwater

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This article was published 20/07/2018 (2946 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A proposed 70,000-square-foot fitness facility in Bridgwater Centre hasn’t changed the City’s plans to build a recreation campus in the neighbourhood, local councillor Janice Lukes says.

On July 16, the Riel community committee approved the site plan and layout for a massive recreation centre — billed as having a “variety of modern fitness amenities” in a city administrative report — at South Town Road and Centre Street and a 420-stall parking area.

The project by Altea Active Club Inc. (incorporated in August 2017) is slated to fill nearly six acres of vacant land just south of the Bridgwater Town Centre.

About 1,000 metres east of the proposed fitness centre, the City of Winnipeg along with the Pembina Trails School Division, South Winnipeg Community Centre and other community stakeholders are also planning to build a recreation campus in conjunction with two new schools, recently announced by the province.

“This is not at all any form of replacement for what we’re building at the recreation site by the schools,” Lukes (South Winnipeg-St. Norbert) said. “We absolutely are in the planning stages with the province of Manitoba, the Pembina Trails School Division, and the developer because we’re moving forward with this.”

“This is a high priority for the southwest quadrant of Winnipeg and the City of Winnipeg put it in their budget as a high priority.”

The Waverley West recreation campus would include a fitness facility (the City has a tentative agreement with the YM-YWCA to build several facilities in the city), parks and athletic fields, and a library on expropriated land at 262 Cadboro Rd.

Lukes said the City has set aside money for the public facility and the entrance of a private business offering comparable services doesn’t negate the City’s responsibility.

“The City has a massive obligation to develop a regional recreational facility in the southwest quadrant of Winnipeg,” she said. “The City is committed 100 per cent to doing just that.”

While recent reports suggest the Waverley West recreation campus may open its doors to the public within three and six years, Lukes said developers of the new fitness facility on Centre Street hope to be open by fall 2019.

Lukes said she can’t divulge the details of the development before a plan approval comes to Riel community committee in September, but insists the amenities in the proposed fitness centre will “blow people’s minds.”

“Because it’s private, it will be built very quickly, versus a public facility,” Lukes said. “They’ve told me that it’s similar to a YM- YWCA in the sense that the prices will be Y-ish.

“They did say on the public record that they will have a type of child care for parents who want to come and use the facility… so that’s exciting,” she continued.

“This is a phenomenal project for south Winnipeg the timing couldn’t be better.”

Ray Wan, of Raymond S.C. Wan Architects Inc., has been working with the developers and appeared as a delegate for the project at the Riel community committee meeting.

Wan said the community will have to wait a bit longer to learn who their new neighbours will be and just what their plans are for the site, as the developers aren’t prepared to speak about the project until everything is approved by the City.