Fredericton chooses Grant-Harvey Centre as site for new pool

The City of Fredericton is taking one step closer to solving a years-long problem, a new indoor pool. So we now have a site and we have a plan moving forward, so one step closer. The decision was made with the help of a third-party analysis which laid out three options. Expand the YMCA, build a new facility next to UNB's Currie Centre or a new facility at the Grant Harvey Centre. The analysis recommended the Grant Harvey option which is estimated to cost $81 million. That isn't the cheapest option, but the analysis says it offers the best solution to the city's goals. It checks off the most boxes. I mean, at the end of the day, we want something that people are going to be used and they're going to be proud of, right? So we want to make sure that all the user groups are included, which we've included them throughout the process. There are limitations with the other proposals. So we want to make sure that we do a good job. And when you're spending taxpayers' money, you want to make sure you're getting the biggest bang for your buck. And obviously there's some energy efficiencies when we have it at Grant Harvey up there. Hicks says the pool will serve everyone, including competitive swimmers, therapeutic swimmers, and anyone learning how to swim. It'll also be on city land and be tender ready. The other design options have less room to work with and less opportunity for expansion. Swimmers in the city have been calling for a new pool for years and are currently using the Fredericton Indoor Pool, the YMCA, and UNB's aging Sir Max Aiken Pool, which is beyond its useful life and requires costly upkeep. Despite encouragement from the swimming community, Nathan White says there's still need for more capacity. We still need more. This is going to just sort of barely replace what we're about to lose with UNB. So we're, you know, sort of as soon as this one's there, We want to know where the second pool is, maybe the third pool. The city itself already has two pools in its long-term plan. But we're going to celebrate this as a little win from last night. The city still has a lot to do before being shovel-ready. The plan is to split the project three ways between all levels of government, but the city's not sure it even has enough money to do that. The city currently has $17 million in borrowing room set aside. That amount is unlikely to cover the full local share, So additional municipal capacity, partner contributions, neighboring community participation, and community fundraising may be required and need to be explored. Hicks says it's a little early to determine when construction will start, but he hopes it's sometime next year.