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Port Coquitlam readies for new rec complex

Ground was broken today (Friday) to replace the recreation centre south of Wilson Street, at a cost of $132 million.

With felled trees surrounding them, Port Coquitlam's mayor, councillors and other dignitaries turned sod this morning (Friday) to launch the construction for the new recreation complex.

The mega-infrastructure project — a 205,000-sq. ft. facility that, when finished in June 2021, will include three sheets of ice, a leisure pool and the Terry Fox Library, among other amenities — is one of the largest in the city's history, nearly equaling the cost of the Coast Meridian Overpass.

PoCo Mayor Greg Moore told the crowd inside the rec centre that the municipality had reached out to the community to get feedback on what it wanted in the replacement building. And what he hopes it will become is a gathering place — one that will link with the downtown, which will also soon be revitalized.

Former city councillor Mike Bowen, with the PoCo Sports Alliance Society, told The Tri-City News that users can expect some challenges during the four-year construction period especially with parking. Still, he said sports groups have been in the loop for a while and have to make plans to accommodate its athletes and coaches.

The groundbreaking comes the same week the city's finance committee voted 4-3 to retain Tango Management as the project leaders: This month, it boosted its contract fee by $1 million after the city changed the scope and timeline for the $132-million build.

It also comes amid controversity over the loss of 122 trees chopped down on the 15-acre campus to make way for the updated rec complex — some of them dating about 100 years old.

jcleugh@tricitynews.com