At the June 25 Council Meeting, Council voted unanimously to move forward with adding the proposed library space to the current Multi-Plex expansion project.
“Council recognizes that moving forward with this project at this time will create an opportunity. The current state of the economy and status of the construction industry could provide some significant cost savings in construction costs.” Mayor Poole states. He adds, “The need for both the second arena and a new library were identified through our facility and recreation master planning processes and have been included in the 10-year capital plan.”
The Multi-Plex expansion project is well underway with transition from conceptual design to final design this fall. While the need for a second ice surface was a foregone conclusion in the Facility and Recreation Master Plan, increased Library space was deemed integral to meet the demands of this growing community. Users will benefit from increased library space and incorporation of arts/culture programming areas in the new 12,000 square foot library.
A major trend in community facility development is to create community hub destinations with multiple services on one site or under one roof. This will promote cost savings/synergies but will also promote integration of users.
“The Town recognizes that further discussions with Council, stakeholders, and the Community remain integral to the process as we work through final design over the next number of months with spring 2020 being an achievable construction start up timeline,” noted Chief Administration Officer, Myron Thompson.
Administration, Project Architects: ACI Architects Inc. and Stantec have engaged in significant discussions ensuring that this project and the Gregg Street re-alignment project will be advanced simultaneously in order to accommodate this community-defining project.
For more information visit blackfalds.com.
-Submitted by the Town of Blackfalds
