New rec facility coming to Kanata, Athletic Club to open third Ottawa gym near Home Depot

Posted Jan 24, 2013 By Jessica Cunha

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EMC news - Kanata south will become the home of the 11th - and largest - Athletic Club facility in the province.

The Athletic Club Group announced its intention to set up shop on Frank Nighbor Place, near Home Depot and Costco, on Tuesday, Jan. 15.

The company also has gyms in Orléans and the Ottawa Train Yards shopping centre.

"I've been after this for months now," said Kanata South Coun. Allan Hubley. "The people in Bridlewood especially, but all over Kanata south, want more recreation facilities."

The new location will be the largest Athletic Club facility in the province at 6,500 square metres, and will boast two saltwater pools - one for women only - as well as an onsite daycare and a multipurpose outdoor court with a two-lane sprint track.

"There's nothing in Kanata even close to it," said Hubley.

Construction on the $14-million gym is expected to begin this spring with an opening date in 2014.

"The Kanata project will be much nicer ... and much larger than our existing clubs here," said David Wu, managing partner of the Ottawa Athletic Club Group.

The organization will select a general contractor for the project within the next few weeks, he added.

"We'll definitely be looking to hire a lot of local people living in Kanata."

LONG TIME COMING

Residents of Hubley's ward have long asked for additional pool and recreation facilities, he said.

With little space available, however, it was decided by a previous council that municipal funds would be used to build a recreation centre north of Highway 417.

"People are still looking for a pool in Bridlewood but there are no lands available," said Hubley, adding there are no municipal funds available to build that type of facility in his ward.

Instead, the Athletic Club will fill that void. Asking for the private sector to invest in the community was the only way to get a pool, he said.

"Because this is a private facility it'll be high-end," said Hubley, who visited the facilities located at the Trainyards and Orléans.

"It's a really sharp looking place. The whole package is there."

Margaret Kellaway, president of the Bridlewood Community Association, said she needed to learn more about the facility before commenting on how it would affect Bridlewood residents.

The new gym is in close proximity to both the Kanata Leisure Centre, which houses fitness facilities and a pool, and the Kanata Recreation Complex, which has two NHL-size rinks and the Bell Sensplex with its four rinks and indoor sports field.

The Athletic Club, which has 10 other facilities across the province, got its start in London, Ont. in 1997 by founders Alan Quesnel and Wu.

DRIVING DISTANCES FROM BRIDLEWOOD

The new Athletic Club fitness and aquatic facility will serve residents of the west end including the Bridlewood area, which has long asked the city for a community pool, said area councillor Allan Hubley.

But according to Google Maps, the driving distance from the Eva James Memorial Community Centre - a city-run facility in Bridlewood that offers programs such as fitness, sports, dance, preschool play, arts and gymnastics - to the Athletic Club's future site is further than it is to the Kanata Leisure Centre, a municipally run aquatic

facility.

The following are driving distances and times from the Eva James Centre to other west end facilities:

• Eva James Centre to the future Athletic Club facility on Frank Nighbor Place: 6.9 kilometres, 12 minutes.

• Eva James Centre to the Kanata Leisure Centre at 70 Aird Pl.: 5.9 kilometres, 10 minutes.

• Eva James Centre to the Kanata Recreation Complex at 1 Walter Baker Pl.: 5.5 kilometres, 10 minutes.

• Eva James Centre to the Goulbourn Recreation Complex at 1500 Shea Rd.: 7.1 kilometres, 11 minutes.




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