The Town has gone to tender to build the new Montreal West Sports and Recreation Center as it recognizes the value of sports and recreation as an essential public service for growing a healthy, vibrant and connected community.
Recreation is being called upon to support objectives beyond physical fitness, such as community building, social inclusion, wellness and economic development. This shift presents an opportunity for Montreal West to reimagine the role of its sports and recreation facilities as part of a broader Town-building strategy. The new facilities will serve as a centralized hub for the entire community through a variety of different programs and activities. Sports and recreation will become a key factor in shaping quality of life in Montreal West.
The new intergenerational Center will offer enhanced sport and recreation services, be universally accessible and favour an eco-responsible and climate-resilient design.
This webpage will be updated as the need arises and more information is known.
Built in 1964, our facilities are now 58 years old, far exceeding the 40-50 year expected life span for an arena and an outdoor swimming pool and serious structural, air quality and accessibility issues are now at play.
The current facilities are unable to support the modern-day expectations of users and limit the Town in its ability to maintain and improve the health, well-being and quality of life in the community.
In addition, recreation activities are currently spread out across several locations, including the Davies Chalet, Town Hall and Community Center. This situation presents an ongoing challenge regarding service delivery, space, equipment and personnel management, security, parking, etc.
As it stands, the current plans for the new Sports and Recreation Center include a regulation sized-rink, an outdoor L-shaped swimming pool, a gymnasium, 2 multipurpose rooms, pro-shop, café-restaurant, offices and kitchen facilities.
View the floor plans for more details
Yes, the ceiling height of the gymnasium will be 5.4 meters and will allow for the practice of sports such as basketball, badminton, pickleball, etc.
Consult a table with all room sizes.
Having been built in the 1960s, the pool would require numerous complex and costly repairs to replace the original pipes and plumbing, cracked concrete slabs and filtration system. Furthermore, the pumping and filtration system for the pool are currently inside the arena, so when that is demolished we’ll have to replace the pool system.
In addition, the current pool has a maximum capacity of 300 people, which is not enough to accommodate multiple programs simultaneously, and it is not accessible (by ramp or lift) for differently abled people.
The new pool will be fully accessible and will have a proper deep end which could be used for more diving programs and competitions.
The mission of the PAFIRS program is to support sports and recreational infrastructures to encourage the practice of physical activities. Understanding this, Town Council adopted a resolution authorizing a second PAFIRS grant application (after the first was unsuccessful) at our Council meeting in December 2019 and detailed the modified project on our website as of February 2020. Though the MWPL is not part of the new project, we have worked extremely hard with its board to secure alternate permanent accessible locations to meet its members’ needs.
The Town received a $12.5M grant from the federal and provincial governments as part of the Financial Assistance Program for Recreational and Sports Infrastructures (PAFIRS).
The PAFIRS grant was awarded to the Town for a reconstruction project that offers increased sport and recreation services and that includes an arena, an outdoor swimming pool, 2 multipurpose rooms and a gymnasium. Any modification to the approved plans would need to be reviewed by the Ministère and it is not guaranteed at all that the grant would remain.
The grant will only be disbursed following the construction of the Sports and Recreation Center. The federal grant will be paid in one lump sum whereas the provincial grant will be paid over 10 years with interest.
The project that was reviewed and approved by the Ministère de l’éducation included a completion date by February 2025.
The plans for the new Sports and Recreation Center were finalized during the last design phase to meet the requirements outlined in the PAFIRS program (environmental targets, universal accessibility, etc.) and to reflect the results of the public consultations held with residents, community organizations and local stakeholders.
The estimated project costs of $32M as listed in the loan by-law takes into consideration the inflationary environment and the surge of activity in the construction industry and includes net taxes, contingencies and other related and unforeseen expenses pertaining to the work.
It is important to note that the maximum borrowing power of $27M as listed in the by-law is based on estimated costs and does not take into consideration private (fundraising) and public (provincial and federal government financial assistance) contributions.
| Estimated costs | $ 32,513,686 |
| Subtract unallocated surplus | $3,250,000 |
| Subtract allocated surplus (including the sale of library lot) | $1,945,000 |
| Loan by-law | $27,318,686 |
| Subtract grants | $ 12,556,227 |
| Subtract fundraising and other funds (provincial sales tax refund) | $ 3,637,313 |
EQUALS: Estimated loan for taxpayers paid over 40 years. | $ 11,124,646 |
Over 45 donations were committed in the silent fundraising campaign representing $1.6M. These are bound by contractual agreements.
Launched last November, the public fundraising campaign consisting of fundraising events as well as a fundraising page is ongoing.
The target fundraising amount is $2.5M
Residents opposed to the loan by-law had the opportunity to sign a register to hold a referendum to approve or reject the by-law.
The Town of Montreal West opened a register on Tuesday, February 14, 2023 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. with respect to By-law 2023-001 ordering the construction of a new sports and recreation center and authorizing a lon of $27 318 686 for this purpose.
The number of signatures required to force a referendum was 391. The Town received a total of 329 signatures. Therefor, By-law 2023-001 is deemed to have been approved by those eligible to vote and will be forwarded to the ministère des Affaires municipales et de l’habitation for approval.
In order to receive as many bids as possible and increase our odds for a better price , it was decided to extend the bidding period originally ending February 24 to March 24.
Yes. In an effort to be completely transparent with residents, Council has committed to holding a vote following the opening of the bids. At that time we will present residents with the total cost of the project as well as the projected impact on your tax bill. You will then have the opportunity to vote whether or not to proceed with the construction of the new Sports and Recreation Centre, taking into consideration all of the facts.
A resolution announcing Council’s intent to hold a vote will be passed at the February 27 council meeting.
The vote will be held in a similar way to the referendum however it will be less expensive as we do not have as many legislative hoops to jump through with a vote we call ourselves.
If the majority votes yes, the construction of the new Sports and Recreation Center will begin. If the majority votes No, the project as it has been presented will not go forward.
The following chart illustrates the steps involved in a loan by-law procedure.
Registration will take place on Tuesday, February 14, 2023 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Music Room at Town Hall (50 Westminster avenue South, H4X 1Y7).
The Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities, sets out the rules for identifying who is eligible to vote.
Those eligible to vote must be:
The persons qualified to vote must confirm their identity by presenting one of the following documents:
Additional details about the conditions to be recognized as a person qualified to vote may be found in the public notice that was published on February 3, 2023.
The calculation formula set out in the Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities determines the number of signatories required to force a referendum. In the case of Montreal West, this number is 391.
