ELORA – The Elora Community Centre is closed for renovations.
There will be no hockey, no public skates, no lacrosse and no events in the hall while extensive renovations are underway.
Work is expected to take place April through December and the facility is to reopen in January 2024.
This project has been a long time coming and the pandemic didn’t help.
Centre Wellington Township received $1.9 million from the federal Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program in 2020 and $1.6 million from the province, leaving the township to pick up the remaining $1.3 million for a total project cost of about $5 million.
The project was to improve accessibility in dressing rooms, washrooms and the main entrance, increase energy efficiency, add space for more programming and improve the facility so it could be used as an emergency shelter in extreme heat and cold weather events.
COVID hit in March 2020, the grant was delayed, the project was pushed back, and construction costs went through the roof.
By the time the project was ready to tender, the cost had mushroomed to $9 million. Council, with the help of staff and a consultant, stripped back the scope of work.
The renovation project will address the mechanical room, concrete ice pad, and ice making refrigeration equipment and make the lobby and change rooms accessible. This still adds another $1.6 million to the original cost estimate bringing the township’s share to almost $3 million.
The township has been working with arena users to find suitable alternate space until the Elora Community Centre reopens in 2024.
