Cambridge will be vying for $25 million in federal funding under the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings (GICB) program to put toward the $66 million estimated bill for a new recreation centre and IDEA Exchange.
Council directed staff at a recent meeting to go ahead and apply for the maximum eligible funding amount.
"This was such a great report to receive and read," said Deputy Mayor Mike Mann, "especially when it comes on the heels of the city just passing the TransformWR strategy. This is a great way to proceed in the build of the recreation complex."
The GICB is a national merit-based program with the objective of funding up to $25 million per project to support capital infrastructure retrofits, repairs, or upgrades of existing publicly accessible community buildings and the construction of new community buildings.
A staff report outlines that the recreation complex is the most suitable project for this program. The grant money will go toward achieving a net-zero carbon building using technologies, such as enhanced building envelop, solar panels and geothermal systems.
A breakdown of the project in the report indicated that the total estimated project cost is calculated for $5.5 million in design and $60.5 million in construction.
