Tender Awarded for Southlands Community Centre

The Southlands area of St. John’s has been growing at a rapid rate and soon the area will have a new Community Centre for residents to enjoy.

The tender for the construction project was approved at the April 15 meeting of Council, with Magna Contracting and Management Inc. being awarded the project with a bid of just under $3 million.

“I am extremely pleased to see us take another positive step towards ensuring Southlands has the infrastructure it needs as it continues to grow and develop,” says Ward 5 Councillor Wally Collins, Chair of the Public Works, Environment and Protection Standing Committee. “This Community Centre will be an asset to the community ensuring that Southlands remains a desirable place for residents to live.”

The funding for this project was first announced in September, 2012, during a joint announcement between the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the City of St. John’s with more than $3 million announced in a 50-50 cost-shared arrangement.

Since that time the City has moved forward with the design of the building and held public consultations with residents throughout the process.

“The public consultation process is very important,” says Councillor Collins. “We want to ensure that any facility we build will meet the needs of the community for years to come and it’s important that we get their feedback throughout the design process.”

Some of the elements of the project which were addressed through the consultation process included ensuring there was proper buffering with the residential neighbourhood, the parking lot was relocated to be further away from the Children’s playground and the City maximized the footprint of the building to ensure it could accommodate as many users as possible given the land available.

“I am very pleased with the final design and now that we have the tender awarded I look forward to seeing construction begin in the upcoming weeks,” says Councillor Collins. “This project has been a long time in the making and it is gratifying to see us one step closer to opening the facilities doors and welcoming the public.”

For further information:
Jennifer Mills
Communications Officer
City of St. John's
Phone: (709) 570-2037
Cell: (709) 690-7586
E-mail: jmills@stjohns.ca

Wally Collins
Ward 5 Councillor
Chair, Public Works, Environment and Protection Standing Committee
City of St. John's
Phone: (709) 576-8584
E-mail: wcollins@stjohns.ca