Preliminary design rendering of first phase of project from +VG Architects presentation. (image from South Bruce Peninsula council files)
South Bruce Peninsula has retained a consultant to prepare a feasibility study and business plan for the proposed new administration building and community hub in Wiarton.
Town council approved a recommendation at its meeting on Tuesday to award a $49,875 contract to McQueen Galloway Associates for the work.
According to a staff report, the purpose of the study is to confirm the viability and community demand, priorities and phasing of recreation and cultural facilities at a future community hub on Jenny Street in Wiarton.
The Puslinch-based consultant will also develop a business case for the hub and ensure it is financially sustainable in the short- and long-term.
The town plans to build a new administration building and multi-use hub on about 25 acres of land in the north end of Wiarton. The entire project would involve multiple phases over a number of years and incorporate a new arena.
South Bruce Peninsula Mayor Janice Jackson says the plan for the first phase as of now is to build a new administration building containing a seniors’ and youth centre, an outdoor splash pad/skating rink, an outdoor amphitheatre and an outdoor town square.
+VG Architects presented preliminary design concepts and a space needs study for the project at council’s meeting earlier this week.
In its presentation, the firm’s cost estimate for the first phase is $11.2-million. The municipal administration building would require about 19,000 square-feet of floor space, and 93 parking spaces would be built.
Jackson says the town expects to finance the first phase of the project through Municipal Accommodation Tax revenues, fundraising and grants from other levels of government.
The +VG Architects preliminary design document also estimates the total cost of future phases — which would include the community hub and recreation centre — at $41.4-million. The amenities it features in this estimate are professional offices, an indoor aquatic centre, pickleball courts, a fitness centre, an arena, an indoor town square & building connections.
The consultant preparing the business case will provide a more concrete financial picture for the town, the South Bruce Peninsula mayor acknowledges.
Jackson says community consultations will be occurring over the next few months to gauge exactly what residents want out of the project. She says the consultations will be complete by the end of February 2022 and a report will come back to council in March.
“That’s going to be a very important component because we have heard a strong desire for an indoor aquatics centre, we’ve heard about pickleball courts, we’ve heard it all,” says Jackson. “We want to make sure that we really get our finger on the pulse of the community to determine exactly what they want.”
Jackson says council is “absolutely willing to add on” to what is currently planned in the first phase if that’s what the community desire is.
She says it’s possible work on the first phase of the new administration building and community hub in Wiarton could start as early as April 2022.