Westmount Recreation Centre | 35 Lynbrook Dr. | ? | ? | U/C

[thistleclub]

Via Lintack



Via Invisij

Designed by Lintack Architects in association with Invizij Architects (née Garwood Jones & Hanham Architects), this $21 million facility is slated to open to the public 10 days from now.


Westmount rec centre nearly ready
Programs start Jan. 22
(Hamilton Mountain News, Gord Bowes, Jan 4, 2013)

Work on the oft-delayed Westmount Recreation Centre is nearly complete. The $21-million, 50,000-square-foot facility will open its doors this month.

The rec centre was one of several projects announced for the city as part of a federal infrastructure stimulus project announced in early 2009 and was to be completed by March 2011. The $21-million cost was to be evenly divided by the federal, provincial and municipal governments.

Because the city could not complete the centre on time, it did not receive full funding from the upper levels — in the federal government’s case, it was $3.1 million less than promised.

“This facility never would have been initiated at that time without their assistance,” acknowledged Coun. Terry Whitehead (Ward 8, west Mountain).

But it was also clear from the outset that construction wasn’t likely to be completed on schedule, he said.

When the infrastructure projects were announced during the recession of 2009, the project was on the city’s wish list — albeit near the bottom — because the old Westmount rec centre was closed, though the city had only just started on a feasibility study.

“It wasn’t a surprise the project wouldn’t meet the timelines,” said Whitehead.

The project was also delayed while the city secured a site and because of a lack of specialized contractors needed for the pool, he said. As construction neared completion, there was again a delay because of a leak in the concrete pool and because of scratched glass that needed to be replaced before the city would accept the building from the contractor.

The centre will be the flagship of all the city’s recreation facilities, said Whitehead. It is about three times the size of the original Westmount centre, which was built in 1965 and closed in 2008 due to structural concerns.

“I’m very optimistic there’s very little we missed in this design,” he said.

The new centre, located at 35 Lynbrook Dr., features a 25-metre, eight-lane pool, a warm pool with slide, a youth centre, a seniors activity room, a dance/fitness studio, a gymnasium, a community meeting space and three multi-purpose rooms, said facility manager Janine Gaunt.

There’s also a grand lobby, natural lighting wherever possible and the building offers wifi Internet access.

Workers are still installing the final touches, such as outfitting the building with way-finding signs, and awaiting final inspections, said Gaunt.

The public is invited to tour the new Westmount rec centre on Jan. 15 from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m., and again Jan. 19 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Program guides will be available and memberships can be purchased at that time. Programming starts Jan. 22.


As the lead suggests, this is one of three local infrastructure projects that fell behind schedule and imperilled their upper-level funding as a result.

More preview snaps here.

[SteelTown]

It's a beauty.

Construction took forever though, what two years?