Work set to begin this spring on site next to Laval’s Cosmodôme
A key moment in the drawn-out saga over the City of Laval’s Aquatic Complex was scheduled to take place on Tuesday evening this week when Laval city council was set to pass a resolution awarding a $108,444,700 contract for the project to the Montreal-based project engineering firm Pomerleau.
While a statement issued by the city’s executive-committee last week states the contract with the company is worth $108,444,700, the agenda for the special meeting of council, providing detailed information on the resolution to be passed, stated the amount as $124,684,293.83, which is in line with a cost estimate the city most recently provided.
Starts this spring
“The city succeeded in coming up with a project in which a balance between costs and quality has been respected,” the executive-committee said of the contract in its statement, while adding that the beginning of work is scheduled to take place this spring on the site next to the Cosmodôme and Autoroute 15.
“After the long road towards the realization of one of the most important infrastructure projects on our territory, we are arriving at the finish line,” Mayor Stéphane Boyer said. “More than ever, the aquatic complex is important for everyone in Laval who wants to have an active lifestyle.
City says it will pay off
“These facilities equipped with sports and games equipment that meet specifications for national competitions in a range of aquatic disciplines will be up to everyone’s needs to learn, have fun and to excel personally.”
The contract was awarded just a few weeks after the city announced it was adding $50 million to an earlier-estimated $75 million cost for the aquatic complex, raising the price tag to $125 million.
Despite the cost increase, the city maintains that the aquatic complex will have positive impacts on different levels, including lifting Laval’s status internationally, generating short- and longer-term economic benefits, and encouraging physical activity by Laval’s population.
$20 million in gov’t subsidies
The city also maintains that Laval’s property tax payers won’t be on the hook for the entire amount. While the federal government has agreed to provide $10 million through its cultural and recreational community infrastructure program, the provincial government is providing another $10 million through a similar program.
‘We are arriving at the finish line,’ says Mayor Stéphane Boyer
The City of Laval launched the architectural competition for the aquatic complex in 2016, after years of speculation on what Laval’s next big project would be after the construction of the Place Bell multipurpose arena.
Cost has more than doubled
When first announced in January 2017, the cost of the aquatic complex was initially projected to be $61.1 million and the city hoped to complete it by 2020, although that changed as circumstances evolved. When completed, the project will include the following key elements:
- Three swimming pools (one recreational, another of 50 metres and a diving basis with a 10-metre diving tower. There will also be a multifunctional training studio and a physical fitness workout room.
- It is expected to host important national and provincial swim competitions.
- It is also expected to accommodate 875 swimmers and 500 spectators.
- The sports expected to be practiced at the Aquatic Complex will include swimming, synchronized swimming, water polo, diving, aquatic exercise, life-saving training and free swim events.
It is expected to contribute to the overall development of athletics in various sports in the Laval region.
