Innisfil Rec Centre construction right on schedule
by Michelle Minnoch

Gary Stanhope, Project Manager MPHM, provided council with an update with the status of the Innisfil Recreation Complex.

"If you drive by, you can see the structure going up," he said.

While there have been some weather concerns, Stanhope said they are tracking on schedule, only losing about two weeks due to the conditions.

"We are moving ahead," he said, "the piping and refrigeration for both rinks is already in."

Stanhope also said the parking lot has a base coat down, the pool foundation is underway with the Myrtha Pool on order, and they presently have a consultant on board to meet their security needs.

With full building permits and site approval, Stanhope said they have 90% of their contingency funds still in place.

"We are quite pleased, that is quite rare," he said.

He said they are looking into a "Cool Solution" grant program, which would be upwards of $95,000. They are getting the technical information in place, and will submit the paperwork for the grant in February.

The building is still seeking LEED (Leadership in Environmental Energy and Design) status. While 26 credits are needed for the rec centre to be LEED certified, they are looking to achieve 30 credits.

"The consultants told us this would be the first arena in Canada that would achieve LEED status," he said, adding LEED certification is usually for office type buildings, and achieving LEED status for an ice rink in more difficult.

While he cited weather as a concern, another Stanhope said was the widening of the road by the County.

"We can't occupy the building without the widening complete."

While the rec centre will have a phased occupancy, Stanhope said that is usually a pain. He said they have to be careful as they plan ahead, making sure safety regulations and compliances are in place before any occupancy takes place.

Stanhope said the major undertaking will be the pouring of the arena floor slab. Planned for mid May or June, trucks will be going to the site constantly, for 12 to 14 hours, until the job is complete.

He said the majority of the building will be completed for July 2007; Phase one will be the completion of the arenas, phase two the aquatic and fitness area, which will be open by October 2007.

He said the completion of the sports fields will relay on the weather, but will hopefully be done by July.