Niverville’s Community Resource Centre (CRC) is getting closer every day to becoming a reality. On August 1, town council held a public open house at the Niverville Arena to introduce architectural drawings created by Von Ast Construction.
“The CRC is unique in that we are creating a single campus for social and recreational opportunities for our residents,” says Councillor Chris Wiebe. “Rather than building multiple facilities, our focus with Von Ast is [to make use of] the synergies by creating a facility under one roof that will meet the needs of our growing and young community.”
Multiple renderings on display delineated the various aspects being planned into the new facility. The complex, when it’s completed, will include a childcare facility, performing arts space, and a fieldhouse with regulation-size ball courts and retractable bleachers. Nearby, families will have access to a two-storey indoor playground equipped with $300,000 worth of child-friendly equipment. A variety of meeting rooms, multipurpose rooms, and a teaching kitchen will provide additional, and much-needed, rental space to the community.
The nearly 67,000-square-foot main floor will include an NHL-sized ice surface with ample dressing rooms. Potential expansion is also being considered, depending on future growth.
“The town wants to be efficient and smart in the planning of the facility,” Wiebe says. “At this point, there are no plans for future expansion. However, the site is being designed to allow for future pods to the north [of the arena], for instance, so that we can expand upon the structure [rather] than build from scratch.”
The second floor of the complex, with more than 17,000 square feet of space, will include a mezzanine floor running track overlooking the ball courts. Also at the second-floor level, hockey fans will enjoy heated seats, providing a comfortable perch overlooking the ice. The mezzanine floor and second-storey playground will be accessible by elevator or stairs.
According to Wiebe, construction could begin as early as January 1, 2019, but many important factors need to come together to make that possible.
“At this point, we have submitted our initial case to the federal and provincial governments for the full build-out of the facility and, until we are told otherwise by the senior levels of government, our focus is on a single-phase of construction.”
The total cost of the full build-out, as exemplified in the renderings, is $19.5 million. At the inception of this dream, town council promised a direct contribution of $5 million. Government grants have been requested to the tune of $11 million leaving a balance of $3.5 million left to fundraising efforts, which have already been in the works for the past number of years. To date, approximately $100,000 has been raised through galas and other events.
Council is hopeful that government agencies will look favourably on the grant requests due to the unique and multifaceted nature of the CRC. More than just a sports facility, it is a campus that the whole community will enjoy.
Council’s new budget already reflects the anticipated needs of the new facility.
“The budget includes large equipment purchases like an electric zamboni to reduce our carbon footprint and become a greener facility,” adds Wiebe. “The budget has been set with contingencies and ensures we have money set aside for furniture and fixtures.”
Wiebe says residents would be incorrect in making the assumption that the high cost of the facility will translate to high operating costs and increased rental rates. Energy-efficient strategies will be implemented, thereby reducing energy consumption compared to similar facilities built in days gone by.
“Specific rental rates have not been worked out. However, moving towards multiple tiers of rental rates has begun, including surcharges on prime-time and non-local groups,” Wiebe says. “In addition, council believes in providing greater subsidies to local educational opportunities in recreation as a whole, while competitive and adult-oriented programs receive less subsidy.”
The Niverville Curling Club, for now, will not be incorporated into the CRC. And while there is no intention at this point to remove the existing aging arena, it will not be attached to the new facility.
“The scope of the CRC is to focus on future facilities and not the present,” Wiebe concludes, indicating that the curling rink and old arena’s status will be examined sometime in the future.
