The Strathcona Standard

  The new aquatic centre at Strathcona Gardens will be ready for a grand opening this fall, elected officials heard this week.

  On Wednesday, the Strathcona Gardens Commission heard from Wolfgang Parada, the Strathcona Regional District’s senior manager of engineering services. He said significant progress has been made during the last four weeks.

  “Things are going really well,” he said. “The project continues on schedule and on budget.”

  Parada provided a progress update for the REC-REATE project, which is transforming the pools at Strathcona Gardens into an aquatic centre to serve the entire region. The nearly $70 million project is building new pools, including a leisure pool with a “lazy river” for people to drift. It will also include an eight-lane, 25-metre pool for lap swimming, a hot pool, a therapy pool, a climbing wall, and a waterslide.

There was one issue in the last few months, which has since been resolved. Parada said a man released from RCMP cells next door to the construction site stole a number of tools. They were all recovered, and security is in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again. 

  Construction started in November 2024. Now, Parada says construction is on track for outstanding work to be completed in time for a grand opening in September. So far about half the allocated budget has been spent, and all aspects of work from the basement to the roof are proceeding on or ahead of schedule.

  Walls and roofs should be completed by the end of April. Interior work continues, including tiling the lap pool, testing to make sure everything is water sealed, and installation of mechanical and electrical systems.

Once the new pools are in service, the old ones will have their space repurposed into a wellness centre with treatment and assessment rooms, new fitness rooms, a new reception area, and a new lobby. That work is expected to be completed sometime next spring.

  For images and video from inside the construction project, click this link and skip ahead to the 15:30 mark in the video from Wednesday’s meeting to view Parada’s presentation.