The District of Houston is keeping its plan for a new community hall current by applying for a major federal grant to cover a portion of the estimated $7.04 million cost.
Although it is still waiting to hear if an earlier application for a federal $6 million is successful, it has also decided to file for another federal grant in the interim.
The second grant program would provide 60 per cent of total eligible costs which District staffers say could mean up to $4.2 million.
This second program is called the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program and amounts to $1.5 billion to be distributed across the country over five years.
Leisure services director Cassie Henrickson did point out that estimated $7.04 million cost of a new facility dates back to January 2021 and that it does include a 50 per cent contingency.
The $7.04 million figure comes from what is called a Class D estimate which is when a project is in the early concept phase and nowhere near the stage when a final plan can be put out to tender.
The District has already set aside $1.764 million for the project and that comes from a portion of a major provincial grant received in 2019 and again in 2020 as well as reserves built up over the years.
Should the District be successful in receiving the $4.2 million and then adding in the $1.764 million, the District would still need $1.05 million to meet the $7.04 million estimate.
Council first began considering replacement costs for the aging community hall in 2017 when a report it commissioned suggested a new hall would cost $4.9 million, only to have it rise to that $7.04 million figure in early 2021.
Consultants, as part of the 2021 cost estimate, identified a former provincial government industrial storage site at 2145 Butler Avenue, the corner of Butler and Fifteenth, near the leisure center as a preferred location for the structure.
That’s considered a brownfield site, opening the possibility of senior government grants to address the issue of contaminants.
What’s envisioned by the consultants is a structure of a total building area of 6,200 square feet with 3,500 square feet of that is taken up by a large assembly area. The rest of the building would consist of two 400- square foot break out rooms, a 400-square foot kitchen as well as an office, washrooms and utility areas.
The immediate outside would be taken up by parking, a playground, a space for outside events, greenspace and a garden.
Built at some point in the 1950s, the existing community hall is approaching the end of its useful life despite the renovations that took place over the years. More work is now needed, including replacing the roof.
In addition, the hall’s lower level and associated rooms are not available for rent since they lack access for people with mobility challenges.
Consultants in 2017 felt the facility then had a maximum 14 years left as a viable structure under the best circumstances.