The $39 million Elevation Place facility in Canmore is still under construction, but Town officials say the move-in will take place next month while rumours surrounding the delays, such as a crack in the pool’s foundation, are “completely untrue.”
Originally set to open towards the end of fall last year, the 77,000 square foot multi-use facility has suffered numerous delays and the Town still has no solid date for when residents and visitors will be able to use it.
The amount of delays has caused some speculation as to whether construction problems are more serious than what the Town has previously stated, however, Manager of Municipal Infrastructure Gary Buxton pointed out this is not the case.
“There are lots of myths, there are lots of rumours out there and there’s absolutely no truth to any of them,” Buxton said. ”There is nothing wrong with the building, nothing wrong with the pool.
“Certain things have taken longer. It’s a very complex building with some scheduling problems earlier that have made it difficult to get back on track,” he added.
“Once we’re close to the move-in date we’ll have a better handle of when the public opening will be.”
As previously reported in the Outlook, construction within Elevation Place was sidetracked last month after problems were discovered with some of the electricals in the roof above the pool.
“There’s still some issues there, but it’s mostly been resolved,” the manger said about the pool roof.
Buxton also noted the amount of workers on site placing the tile has increased to ensure the Town has access to the building next month.
“They’ve recently ramped up the tiling crew,” he said. “I think they’ve gone from six or seven workers to close to 50. They’re making some real efforts to get the building done in February so we can open it shortly thereafter.”
At this stage, parts of the building, including the library and several multi-purpose rooms, are being cleaned in anticipation of its new residents moving in.
“There’s work in the pool, there’s work in the climbing gym, but they are cleaning the remainder of the building,” he explained. “We are at the point now where we are very close to being in the building.
“We’re going to find out in the next couple of days about the pool status and how the tiling is coming,” he added.
Buxton indicated the project, which will feature a new aquatics centre to replace the pool at the Rec Centre, as well as an art gallery, is “on budget.”
“We’ve heard lots of rumours about the deficiency of the building and there are none. It’s just a very complex building that’s taken longer than everyone thought.”
