The city’s Capital Projects Manager says $13.5-million in renovations to the Canada Games Pool should be complete by the middle of this month.
Darren Crundwell says despite COVID-19 concerns, the project is both on time and on budget.
“The project team and contractors did a phenomenal job [to keep the worksite free of COVID-19]. We adjusted accordingly and they did a great job of controlling the work site and making sure that it was as safe as possible so we could continue working,” he told NL News.
“We knew the risks going into it, and there was nothing out of the ordinary that you wouldn’t expect on any major renovation project like that.”
Crews were replacing key components of the facility that were near or past the expected design life, including the roof and walls of the pool building; the boilers; and the mechanical, electrical, and HVAC systems. Also part of the project were upgrades to LED lighting and more energy-efficient hot tubs, a sauna, and an upgraded steam room.
Crundwell admits that the COVID-19 pandemic and related shutdowns did help with the construction in some ways.
“We didn’t have the public and other things to deal with during construction like we would have had had we not had COVID and a pandemic,” he added. “The facility would have been open for one. So there was definitely some challenges but there were also some things that made the construction easier as well.”
As for when the pool could reopen, Crundwell says that will be a decision of city council. The pool was supposed to reopen on January 2, but that was the plan before COVID-19.
“The project will be done in December, but it will give us, staff and operations, a bit of time to commission the new systems and get that pool ready to go,” Crundwell said. “We don’t know obviously what the next few weeks and months are going to hold, but the project is on time, yeah, we are really happy about that.”
City staff were recommending that the city close Westsyde Pool at the end of this month once work on the Canada Games Pool was completed. However city council chose to keep that facility open – a move being celebrated by Westsyde residents.
