Wedgewood Park Recreation Centre Tender Accepted

The Wedgewood Park Recreation Centre is one step closer after City Council voted to accept a tender for primary construction of the facility at the Feb. 10 council meeting.
 
The City received eight bids for the construction project and accepted the low bid of approximately $32 million, plus H.S.T. tendered by EllisDon.
 
“We are extremely pleased there has been so much interest in this project,” says Ward 4 Councillor Bernard Davis, Chair, Community Services and Housing Standing Committee. “The City’s Recreation and Parks Master Plan outlined the importance of reinvesting in existing aging infrastructure. The new Wedgewood Park Recreation Centre will provide residents of the City with a modern, efficient and flexible facility which will meet the needs of the community for years to come.”
 
Some of the highlights of the new facility include:

• 74,000 square feet of overall space
• A 25-meter lane pool, with an additional leisure pool, including two waterslides
• A full-sized 6,700 square foot gymnasium
• 1,500 square foot dedicated children’s area
• 1,500 square foot senior’s area
• Dedicated youth room
• Outdoor playground
• Fitness area
• Several multi-purpose spaces 

The facility also incorporates energy efficient technology, including a geothermal heat source combined with a top of the line heat recovery system. The unique design, which incorporates green space, modern materials and cutting edge structural engineering and design will create an extremely efficient system that will save money in operating costs and reduce the City’s energy consumption. A backup generator is also being incorporated into the facility, which would allow the Centre to function as an emergency shelter or warming centre in the event of a power failure.
 
“This facility will be the first purpose-built recreation complex for the City and will greatly enhance the City’s ability to provide quality recreation programming to our residents,” says Ward 1 Councillor Danny Breen. “The new Wedgewood Park Recreation Centre has been in the works for a number of years now and through our consultation process we have worked closely with the public and area residents specifically to develop a facility that will be an asset to the community as a whole.”
 
 The facility is anticipated to be completed in the fall of 2016 with the existing Wedgewood Park Recreation Centre remaining open for most of the construction period.
 
New Wedgewood Park Recreation Centre Design 

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
 
Danny Breen
Ward 1 Councillor
City of St. John’s
Phone: (709) 576-2332
E-mail: dbreen@stjohns.ca
 
Bernard Davis
Councillor, Ward 4
Chair, Community Services and Housing Standing Committee
City of St. John’s
Phone: (709) 576-8217
E-mail: bdavis@stjohns.ca