On Wednesday, February 19, and Thursday, February 20, residents of Winnipeg’s Transconna suburb expressed their opinions at an open house for the proposed design of a new recreation centre.
In 2021, input from the community was used to determine the need, design, and potential amenities. Paul Scottnick, an investment planner with the City of Winnipeg, says one of the most enthusiastic responses was for the proposed aquatic centre, which would be Winnipeg’s first indoor public pool in over 40 years.
“It’s a combination of that really value-added feedback from the community in terms of needing a new amenity. But also our infrastructure is aging. A lot of indoor facilities, especially, for example, the Tranconna indoor pool, are reaching the end of their useful life. We developed a strategy called the Winnipeg Recreation Strategy that talks about replacing and redeveloping new facilities as they reach the end of their term, which is what we’re at right now.”
Named East of the Red RecPlex, this sprawling 100,000 ft² facility is set to transform the northwest corner of Transcona Boulevard and Plessis Road, right beside the Transcona Library. The design features a zero-grade entry, an indoor skate park, a state-of-the-art gymnasium, and the proposed aquatic centre. Due to community feedback, a childcare centre has also been included in the plans.
“We heard from that in our last round of public engagement in 2021. The community said there’s definitely a need, which makes sense. So, based on that feedback, we looked at the opportunity to develop that space, which is roughly about 6,800ft² and could accommodate about 70 children. Obviously, there’s a need, and it’s a good fit in terms of co-locating the facility and having those opportunities with parents and folks who could be using it.”
Both days at the open house were buzzing with activity. The parking lot was jam-packed, and a steady stream of residents, keen to learn more, flowed in and out of the Transcona Library.
“The first indoor pool in more than 40 years, yes, that will be good,” explains eager Transcona resident Marlene. “We’ve lived in Transcona for over 57 years, and we’ve had very little recreational space in Transcona, even today, and what’s here is old.”
Ollie MacLean, another resident of the community, agrees that a new recreation centre is long overdue. “We’ve waited a long time to have something like this. We actually travel across Winnipeg to Leila Avenue for the wellness centre. So we were super excited to hear this was coming. But the start date is so long away, and it feels like there will be a long wait.”
Although many of those who attended the open house were excited and eager for the facility, some remain hesitant about what can all be promised. Sue, another resident of Transconna, wants to know what can be done to ensure this new centre will be built.
“My concern is where the money is going to come from. I’m afraid once they establish the budget and it goes to City Council, it will be cut that cut that cut that, and all we’ll have left is a pool. This is an awesome plan. It’s awesome for Transcona, and it should happen, but I’m not sure where the money is going to come from.”
Scottnick says the next steps for the East of the Red RecPlex is to finalize the preliminary design with a report to Winnipeg City Council with a Class 3 cost estimate (accuracy of -20 per cent to +30 per cent).
“So that’ll be cost with information on potential next steps. From there, the council can make some decisions regarding potential funding opportunities and considerations. In addition to that, the council’s also earmarked in future budgets $17 million over the next couple of years is still subject to approval each year. So that’s a significant commitment on the part of the council. But really, that would be sort of the direction we’ll be waiting for in terms of next steps. It could potentially involve engaging other levels of government for funding to pay for the facility.”
A rough estimate of a facility at this size is in the ballpark of $89 million.
Scottnick adds they are not looking at reducing or scaling back in any way with the aquatic components and track in the gym, which received strong support in previous and recent engagement rounds.
After city council reviews and approves funding, a detailed design will then be completed with an anticipated construction date of 2028-2030.
A survey can be completed online with input for the project until March 3, 2025.
– Ryan Funk, U Multicultural
