The Nanaimo Aquatic Centre built in 2001 for $15 million.

Image Credit: City of Nanaimo

It's hard to comprehend the projected cost of Vernon's $121-million Active Living Centre, but look around B.C. and the rest of the country, and you'll find municipal recreation facilities are always very costly.

On Oct. 15 Vernon residents are being asked whether they want to borrow the $121 million to build the centre, which come 2027 will add another $300 to the average homeowners yearly property tax bills for the next 30 years.

So is $121 million good value for money?

The City got two quantity surveyors to provide quotes which came in at between $112 million and $121 million. This includes design and professional fees, construction, and both construction and inflation contingency. It's based on anticipated costs in 2023.

And it seems the price is on par with other similar projects.

In 2011 the Albertan city of Grande Prairie opened the Eastlink Centre, a 350,000-square-foot sports and recreation centre.

It's likely the closest facility to the proposed Active Living Centre with a lazy river, a water playground, waterslides, a Flow Rider surfing machine, a 50-metre competitive pool and a 25-metre warm water pool. There are also the usual features like hot tubs and steam rooms. It also has a 175-metre running track and 15,000 square-feet gymnasium.

It cost $110 million, which is $140 million in today's dollars.

While the price tag for the Active Living Centre is steep, City of Kamloops parks and civic facilities manager Jeff Putnam said from his experience the price "feels like what it should."

Putnam said the costs associated with swimming pools are always steep.

Kamloops built its original Canada Games Aquatic Centre in 1993 and in 2005 added a $22-million addition including a 200-metre running track and gymnasium and fitness centre. In 2021 it added a further $13.5 million which largely went into a heat recovery system without any hugely noticeable extra features for the public.

The facility contains very similar features to what is proposed in Vernon with a 50-metre pool, leisure pool, lazy river, hot tubs and a sauna and steam room.

The Nanaimo Aquatic Centre built in 2001 for $15 million.

Image Credit: City of Nanaimo

One of the concerns for Vernon taxpayers is how much the project could end up costing if it goes over budget, which projects often do.

The City of Prince George is currently building a new aquatic facility which looks like it will go over budget by almost five per cent taking the price tag to $39 million from $35 million.

The facility will have two 25-metre pools and a leisure pool with similar facilities to the Active Living Centre, but without a gymnasium and running track and other "dry-side" amenities.

Across the country in Halifax, in order to host the 2011 Canada Games, the city built a $45 million recreation facility – the largest in Atlantic Canada. It has a 25-metre pool along with a leisure pool and a couple of slides.

It also has a similar size gymnasium to that proposed in Vernon and a 200-metre running track. In today's dollars, it would cost $57 million.

READ MORE: What will Vernon's Active Living Centre actually cost taxpayers?

While these prices are eye-popping, Halifax's facility at $57 million in today's dollars still comes in at half the price of the Active Living Centre.

The City of Vernon has pointed at rapidly increasing construction costs.

According to Statistics Canada, building construction costs for non-residential construction rose 13 per cent in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the year before. For residential construction, it increased by 23 per cent in the country's biggest cities.

The City of Kelowna has had to add $100 million in expenses for its long-range construction plans. A plan to replace the Parkinson Recreation Centre has ballooned to $134 million from $100 million last year.

The numbers make the likes of Kelowna's H20 Adventure and Fitness Centre look cheap. The facility was built in 2008 for $46 million – $60 million in today's dollars.

The City of Nanaimo managed to build its aquatic centre, complete with a 50-metre pool and "one of the largest wave pools in western Canada" for a mere $15 million in 2001. That's $23 million in today's money.

The Township of Langley also built its outdoor water park in 2018 for $25 million – $28.5 million in today's dollars.

While Vernon's project is different from H20 and bigger than those in Nanaimo and Langley, whether Vernon residents can stomach the cost will be decided at the ballot box on Oct. 15. Another question, considering Vernon's current facility must be replaced — is how much might it cost later?

READ MORE: Are you getting what you want from Vernon’s Active Living Centre?

The Otter Co-op Outdoor Experience was built by the Township of Langley in 2018.

Image Credit: FACEBOOK: Township of Langley Recreation

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