Council approved staff’s proposal to add a food concession to the new recreation complex floor plan along with a budget increase of $804,640 that includes a projected design and construction increase of seven per cent.
The estimated $752,000 add-on creates over 800 square feet of additional space and pushes the overall budget for the new facility over $108 million.
Highlighting the importance of providing "a concession/commercial kitchen amenity that serves quality food and has the flexibility to host events" last month, council directed staff to return to Tuesday's council meeting to present a more substantial food concession option with associated costs.
Based on the movement and use of spaces within the recreation complex, the design team recommends locating the concession in the lower atrium adjacent to the multi-purpose rooms.
"We're really quite excited and happy about the location of the location and the configuration of this, and think it's a really strong component that can add to the user experience of the building," said Ron Spina, from Colliers, the project manager for the rec complex.
Staff believe the location will provide convenient access to multi-purpose rooms, an open flexible seating area, good visibility to the gym, good visual connectivity to the rest of the atrium, and convenient access to the exterior courtyard where public events will be hosted.
It can also be rented out to generate revenue for the city.
Locating the concession deep into the atrium space will not contribute to line-ups and congestion at the main facility entrance.
The concession will be designed to meet or exceed all accessibility standards in consultation with the city's accessibility advisory committee.
Construction is still on track to begin next year with an anticipated completion date of September 2026.
