Bad weather has delayed construction of Coquitlam's new Poirier Dry Floor Facility, a $3.9-million project that was expected to be completed earlier this month.
Now, the city's strategic initiatives general manager, Perry Staniscia, said it is likely the facility will not be open until sometime in the new year, noting the recent deluge of rain has caused the postponement of some concrete work around the building.
"We thought we would have a lot drier weather," he said last week. "[Crews] couldn't get to do any more work because of this downpour."
Staniscia was reluctant to give a firm date for the facility's completion, noting that it's weather-dependent.
He said that the chemical makeup of concrete allows for it to be poured at any temperature but rain can make it difficult for the cement to seal and dry properly.
Work inside has been progressing, he added, and framing around the washrooms and the boards of the facility will be going up this week.
There was no sports programming scheduled to take place until the new year, which means none of the local athletics associations have been disrupted by the delay, Staniscia said.
"We made the decision not to program anything just in case," he said. "This is a first for us. We want to make sure it's done properly."
This is the not the first time the completion of the dry floor facility has been delayed. In October, staff said that issues with the concrete tendering process would push back the completion date to mid-December.
When construction is finished, the 25,000-sq. ft. facility, located near Poirier Street and Winslow Avenue, next to Dogwood Pavilion (seniors' recreation facility), will be used for ball hockey, lacrosse, dry-land training and indoor soccer, among other sports.
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