Exciting news for the new Cottam Community Centre in Kingsville.
Kingsville council was presented with a report on Monday evening to approve the design plans for the new build, which got the green light.
But on top of the design being approved, council also decided to approve an additional $150,000 for the centre which would add approximately 400 square feet to the build, as well as fund a divider wall for inside the centre to allow more user groups to use the space.
The new Cottam Community Centre will be replacing the Ridgeview Park Community Centre, as well as the Cottam Library, which both require significant repairs.
$2,850,000 was approved in the 2024 budget for this project, and the centre will include a kitchen, library, multi-purpose hall, washrooms, storage, and outdoor covered pavilion.
Kim DeYong, Kingsville deputy mayor, says council realized the space was quite small for multiple groups to use it at once.
"I think when we started talking about the various usage and how we'd like for two things to be able to go on at one time, and so we would put in a divider wall, we realized that the space was actually almost too small for that, so the discussion went around how much would it be to increase the floor space."
She says groups from Ridgeview Park Community Centre, as well as the Cottam Library, reached out expressing the need for space.
"Certainly we were hearing from the library themselves that they would like to see a little bit more dedicated space. We heard from Cottam Rotary that meeting space was really important to them, and they know that when they're meeting, there is often something else going on in the building."
DeYong says council wanted to get this right the first time around before construction begins.
"It would be near impossible to add floor space to the multi-purpose room later on because it's literally wedged in between bathrooms on one side, and storage on the other. So it was definitely important to make the decision to, I would say, right-size the space, and to make sure that this big, exciting investment is going to do what we want it to do."
The new centre will be in Ridgeview Park.
The project will now go out to tender.
DeYong says she's hoping that a shovel will be in the ground before the end of 2024.