4 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday January 16, 2009 www.oakvillebeaver.com Town eyes three options for QEP community centre By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Admissions Assessment Day Saturday, January 24, 2009 9 a.m. 11 a.m. Please call to book an appointment " Because we believe... that math should be taught by a math teacher, and science by a science teacher, we hire highly trained subject-specific teachers. We know that students who are taught by teachers who are passionate and trained with a love of a subject will transfer their vibrant energy and expertise to the learning environment. Fern Hill School, an independent co-educational school for students in Preschool to Grade 8, is regarded as one of the pre-eminent elementary schools in Canada. Our learning environment is inviting, well-equipped and offers students an enriched, customized programme. Fern Hill inspires intellectual curiosity, leadership skills and confidence. We welcome you to come visit us and explore the unlimited possibilities available to your child at Fern Hill School. Oakville Campus Preschool - Grade 8 3300 Ninth Line Road, Oakville, ON 905.257.0022 admissions@fernhillschool.com " www.fernhillschool.com Redevelopment of the Queen Elizabeth Park Community Centre took another step towards reality when Oakville's Community Service Committee accepted input on the proposed facility's design from architects and members of the public. Queen Elizabeth Park (QEP) School ceased operation as a secondary school in 2004 with the Town continuing to operate the pool portion of the building as a community aquatic facility. In 2005, the Town purchased QEP with the intent of redeveloping it into a community centre. Three years of delays followed with little movement on the project until Tuesday when around 50 people packed the Town Hall meeting and listened intently as Shore Tilbe Irwin & Partners Associate Phil Fenech outlined details for the three different shapes the project could take. In option one, Fenech noted, usable portions of the community centre, which is located at 2301 Yolanda Dr., would be maintained and brought up to code while the rest would be demolished. From there, new space would be constructed, where necessary, with the end result being that the centre would house a pool, gymnasium, a seniors' centre, youth space and dedicated arts and culture space. Under this option, the building would be 68,000 square feet in size with 332 parking spaces. The price tag would be $33.5 million. Option two, Fenech noted, allows for a fresh start with the existing community centre com- pletely torn down and a new state-of-the-art community centre built in its place. In this option, the programs in place would be identical to those of option one, but would also include a new lane pool, double gym, leisure pool and change rooms. The demolition option also means greater efficiency, as the building would be constructed with these specific purposes in mind, as opposed to the existing building being altered to fit the intended programs. The cost of going with option two would be $32.3 million. The structure would be 64,150 square feet in size with 351 parking spaces. Option three involves the maintaining and renovation of the entire existing community centre. Under this option, the community centre portion of the building would be very similar to options one and two, however, it would not include a leisure pool or substantial family change rooms. Unlike options one and two, this option has a sizable arts and culture component in excess of 54,000 square feet of dedicated space for a variety of applied arts and music including both rehearsal and performance space. The cost of this option rings in at $23.3 million; it is a total of 144,000 square feet in size and would feature 476 parking spaces. When asked by Ward 6 Councillor Tom Adams why the price of redeveloping the community centre had jumped so high, from an original estimate of $7-15 million to $23-33 million, Fenech explained that upon examination of the existing structure it was found that considerably more work needed to be done than was SALE Pants See Arts page 5 now $10 Tapers 66 candles per rack Small before $396 now $59 Medium before $470 now $69 Large before $594 now $79 REG $260 Cones 16 candles per rack Small before $300 Large before $400 now $79 now $89 D O W N TO W N O A K V I L L E 905-337-3155