Rady centre finishing up pool project

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This article was published 30/01/2017 (3540 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Rady Jewish Community Centre is looking to make a splash in the neighbourhood with a major pool renovation.

The centre is putting the finishing touches on a $380,000 rehabilitation project, replacing the entire pool deck, adding a fresh coat of paint and installing a new waterslide.

“We are thrilled to be able to add this feature and we think families are going to love it,” Gayle Waxman, executive director of the Rady Jewish Community Centre, said.

Waxman estimates the campus at 123 Doncaster St. gets about 1.1 million visits as year, 80 per cent of which are people accessing the fitness facilities.

“This is an unbelievably well used pool. There’s almost no time that it’s empty. We have about 4,000 kids in our swim program and we have a very significant aqua fitness program that’s part of our membership,” Waxman said.

Funding for the renovation was provided through a federal Canada 150 grant of $180,000, with remaining capital coming from the RJCC and fundraising. The slide alone was $100,000, Waxman said.

“We are very much a family-friendly fitness facility and community centre. We’re always looking for ways to keep families active and having fun,” she said of the new water feature.

Demolition began in December with crews ripping up the old laminate flooring and replacing it with new tile.

“The first thing we got rid of was the old pool deck,” explained Curtis Martin, executive director of the Asper Jewish Community Centre.

“It used to be an acrylic covered deck that was about 20 years old,” he said. “It was getting old and dirty and it was hard to maintain.”

While most of the renovation was cosmetic, the upgrades also included a number of high-efficiency lighting improvements, part of a strategy across campus to decrease energy consumption.

“It’s a big difference from what we used to have,” Martin said of the 1,000-watt bulb fixtures that have since been removed.

“These are 650 watt LED lights so we’re going to be saving about 350 watts per bulb over 16 hours a day.
“We’re trying to operate more efficiently with a smaller footprint,” Martin said.

The pool will officially reopen on Feb. 5 with a free FitFest hosted by RJCC. The day will feature a kettle bell competition, wall climbing, parkour and the opening of the slide.

In order to choose who would be first down the pipe, the RJCC asked members for their favourite stories of days in the pool. Waxman said responses have included memories from as far back as the days of the Young Hebrew Men’s Association.

“We’ve been amazed at the diversity of ages that want to go down the slide,” she said. “We’ve had everyone from kids to seniors.”

For more information go to radyjcc.com

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