By Curtis Galbraith

City Hall

Council to discuss future of soon-to-be vacant land in Avondale area in 2024 budget talks

Nov 26, 2022 | 6:00 AM

At the recent city hall budget talks, councillors voted to add an unfunded item for $10 million to the 2024 budget to implement a re-development plan for the land where the Leisure Centre is currently located.

Unfunded means council would have to vote to add it back to the budget and find a funding source. There are no tax implications as of now.

Councillor Dylan Bressey made the motion. He says with the Leisure Centre being torn down; the city needs something to go on that land.

“It’s an important piece of land adjacent to two high schools in a part of the community that our recreation needs study shows needs indoor recreation near the hospital, near Northwestern (Polytechnic).”

“What this money is for is to make sure that we can build something on the Avondale land to replace the old Leisure Centre.”

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Bressey adds he also believes that area needed indoor recreation.

“Whether that’s field space, whether that’s court space, I don’t know…that will be for council to decide.”

“There are a lot of families, a lot of students in the area, so we need something indoors for them to be able to take part in recreation throughout the cold winter months.”

Bressey says the city had looked at trying to save the Leisure Centre.

“The province is tearing down the old Composite High School, which shares a wall with the Leisure Centre.”

“We did do work with engineers to see if we could save the Leisure Centre and it just wasn’t possible… with the old Comp going down, the Leisure Centre, unfortunately has to come down with it.”

He says the $10 million is to have a discussion point and possible funding sources are regional collaboration, grants or borrowing. Councillors will spend the next several months figuring out what they want to see on that land. He hopes they could break ground as soon as the weather allows in 2024.

Bressey says demolition at the Comp and Leisure Centre should start early in 2023 and finish late next year.