Did you know that $321 million budget was approved for the new Lewis Estates reacreational center?

As you can see in the photo above, the new Lewis Estates recreation center will be located in the West Edmonton area.

This past week, counselor Andrew Knack said: "The money is already approved and released, so it can be said that the project has finally been given the green light."

Funding for the project had been delayed since last November, until now, when some cost-related savings measures were approved.

The recreation center increased its budget when residents of the west end pressed for a 53-meter pool and a special tank that allowed diving practices included in the facility.

When these elements were added to the program, the number of square feet of the facilities increased significantly, so the original projections had to be modified.

The funding approval comes with a $ 55 million contingency built in, Laughlin said, in part due to the conditions of the land where it will be built.

In general terms, the site has some geo-technical problems that have added to the complexity of the project, so a risk contingency has been included in the installation.

This means that the project will now go to the planning and design phase.

Currently the company "PCL" has already made an offer, that environment field described as quite competitive.

The final detailed planning will be carried out this year with PCL Construction as a consultant to give the project a second look in the hope of keeping costs low.

Finally, the project will be put out to tender in 2020.

Once a contractor has been secured, construction will be schedule and will begin during 2021 with the opening of the recreation center during 2025.

As you can see this is excellent news for the residents of the area located in the West End of the city of Edmonton.