They asked for feedback.
And Port Coquitlam city hall got it.
Yesterday (Monday), city council, managers and project representatives in charge of updating the downtown recreation complex heard from some 270 people at an open house for the four-year, $132-million project.
Residents toured the Wilson Centre to look at the display boards that gave general information about the new 205,000-sq. ft. facility, which when complete in June 2021 will include: three sheets of ice; a leisure pool; Terry Fox Library; space for seniors' activities (to replace Wilson Centre, part of which will be demolished later this month); a gym; multi-purpose rooms; and an outdoor amphitheatre.
The new rec centre is budgeted to cost an extra $1.2 million to run annually, said Kristen Meersman, PoCo's director of engineering and public works.
Among the comments participants left included requests for dedicated Wilson Centre activities, more parking, WiFi access, gender-free restrooms, First Nations art, arena seating, union construction work, green walls and tree retention.
As reported in The Tri-City News last week, 122 out of 146 trees on the 15-acre campus will be axed — some getting chopped down on the north side this week (a protest is expected at tonight's city council meeting).
Meanwhile, the developer of the residential/commercial complexes, which will be built on the south and west sides of the property, said his company is set to have its rezoning application before city council for consideration by the end of May with anticipated sales starting in June (a report to the city's smart growth committee will be reviewed on March 30, said Laura Lee Richard, PoCo's director of development services).
Robert Delves, development and marketing with Quantum Properties Inc., a family-run business that brought Canucks alum Kirk McLean to Monday's open house, said the mixed-used project has changed from last year.
Quantum will still build a seniors' rental housing building (with a restaurant) and short- and long-term rental building along Mary Hill Road; however, its market housing will now be split over four buildings instead of three.
As well, its two bigger complexes will rise from five- to six-storeys tall (and include a dozen live-work units) while its two smaller buildings, along Kingsway Avenue, will each be six storeys high.
Its development, called Montrose Square, is expected to be complete in five years, Delves said. And it will be the company's fourth residential project in PoCo: Its other sites are Trellis Townhomes (1818 Harbour St.); Orchid Riverside (2465/2495 Wilson Ave.); and Pearl Condos (2343 Atkins Ave.).
As well, Quantum is currently building a 27-storey tower in Abbotsford with Ventana Construction — the project leads for the new PoCo rec centre.
Today, PoCo Mayor Greg Moore told The Tri-City News he received generally positive input about the rec centre plans. "Once they got to see the design and details, they were on board," he said. "Many people were pleased with the different parts of the facility. It's not just a sports facility but a community gathering place."
Moore also said participants were also "pleased" with the financing for the building, using a combination of debt, reserves and tax hikes.
• To stay up-to-date with the Port Coquitlam rec complex redevelopment, visit portcoquitlam.ca/reccomplex, follow the Twitter feeds at #pocoreccomplex or call 604-927-5420 (project) or 604-927-7529 (programs).
