Construction of the long awaited South End Community Centre (SECC) is expected to officially begin next week.
A ground-breaking ceremony is set for Oct. 17 at 10 a.m.
The SECC is planned as a 165,000-square-foot facility to be built off Clair Road beside Bishop Macdonell Catholic High School, just north of the Larry Pearson baseball complex, and set to include a 25-metre pool with eight lanes, two gyms, two ice pads, indoor walking track and five meeting rooms.
City council first approved the plan in 2020 with an $80 million budget. At that time, construction was set to begin in 2022 with a 2024 opening.
However, the project was put on hold in April of last year after the lowest of three bids for the project came in at $121 million.
This past March, council approved a series of changes recommended by a construction manager hired to oversee the project, along with a new $115.5 million budget.
The SECC is tentatively planned to open in 2026.
Plans for a south end centre have been in the works since 2003, when it was first identified in a development charges study. It was also identified on various needs assessments since 2009.
