It will be “a vibrant, inclusive, and accessible facility that will enhance recreation, culture, and library services to the growing Newton community.”
That’s how a recent update report to Surrey council describes the new Newton Community Centre, a state-of-the art $310.6 million project.
To be located just went of the Newton Seniors Centre on 70th Avenue, the facility will be approximately 175,000-square-feet (16,260-square-metres) and will include a 50-metre swimming pool, leisure pool, hot tub and sauna, amenities comparable to those available at the Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre.
The facility will also include two full sized gymnasiums, a fitness centre, mat-room, multi-purpose rooms, childcare and dedicated arts spaces to support a range of cultural programming.
The new facility will also have a new library, which will be approximately double the size of the existing Newton branch.
Outlining several other major city projects, the report notes the project is currently in the preliminary planning stage and is scheduled to select a design-build team before the end of 2025.
Concurrent with the preliminary planning stage, the project is also preparing the site for construction, including demolition of the existing structures, geotechnical testing, environmental site assessment, a tree survey and assembling the various parcels into one site for development.
The completion of the new Newton Community Centre will be established in consultation with the selected design-build team, the report explains.
Construction is to begin next year and was originally anticipated to be completed by 2029, but that has moved to 2030.
The report also notes that it is anticipated that the ongoing global trade dispute relating to tariffs will likely have an impact on the city’s major capital projects as those projects rely on U.S. sourced materials, as noted in an earlier report presented to council.
To date, staff have only observed minor impacts related to tariffs, however the tendering process that is underway for a couple of other expansion and upgrade projects, will provide a clearer understanding of the impacts.
To mitigate, city staff are continuing to work with the design and construction teams for each capital project to seek and secure the lowest cost building materials for the project, while staff will advise of any impacts to major capital projects from the ongoing trade dispute through future updates, the report adds.
The report also notes that as part of staff's ongoing efforts to improve project delivery and outcomes, they are conducting a comprehensive review of available construction contract models.
Other major capital projects underway in Surrey include the Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex, Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre expansion and Fire Hall No. 6.
