Delta council approved the schematic design for the new Winskill Aquatic and Fitness Centre last week, marking what the city calls a significant milestone for the project.
Presented to council during its last meeting of the year on Dec. 17 and available to the public at letstalk.delta.ca/winskill, the schematic design reveals details about the enhanced facility and surrounding park, including a roughly 1,300-square-metre “natatorium” (i.e. pool area) twice the size of the current one and featuring several new amenities.
The natatorium will include a 10-lane, 25-metre lap pool for training; a warmer “teach” pool with four additional lanes for lessons or therapeutic use; a spacious leisure pool with beach-style entry, a lazy river with spray features, water slide and play equipment; and an expanded wellness area featuring a larger hot tub, a sauna, a steam room and a cold-plunge pool.
All pools will also include ramps to ensure accessibility for all ages and abilities, and the natatorium will have both gendered and universal change rooms.
On the first floor, the new centre will feature a full-size gymnasium, a community kitchen, café, large lobby/reception area, a pool viewing area, and a new, larger home for BGC South Coast’s Winskill Club.
Accessible by two elevators, the second level will feature a 560-square-metre fitness space — more than doubling the existing space at Winskill — as well as two multi-purpose activity rooms, another pool viewing area, a terrace garden and outdoor fitness area.
Plans for the surrounding park include enhancements such as a community plaza at the facility's entrance and a partial pinwheel design for the reconfigured ballpark, which will ultimately include four baseball diamonds (the existing U18 and U15 fields, a new U13 field and a relocated U13 field).
Parking capacity will be increased from the current 140 stalls to between 250 and 275 spaces, and a new perimeter pathway will connect the lot and baseball diamonds to the aquatic centre.
The site plan also highlights areas designated for tree replanting, with further details to come as the reforestation plan is finalized.
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“This is an exciting stage as we begin to see the community’s vision for this facility take shape,” Mayor George Harvie said in a press release.
“A project of this scale involves balancing a range of community interests, and council is encouraged to see so many of the features prioritized by residents and user groups reflected in the design of the new aquatic and fitness centre, as well as in the proposed layout for the surrounding park.”
Neither the schematic design nor last Monday’s presentation to council mentioned the city’s plans to relocate the Winskill disc golf course.
Council endorsed a plan to relocate the disc golf course on Oct. 21 following numerous meetings between City of Delta staff and Tsawwassen’s disc golf community.
As an interim solution, six disc golf baskets have been installed in the wooded area at Dennison Park to ensure play continues while the Winskill Park course is decommissioned.
Then, in time for spring 2025, a pilot course of nine to 12 holes, designed by a professional disc golf course designer with input from local players, will be installed at Diefenbaker Park, a location the city says could be a potential long-term home for the course depending on engagement with park users to be conducted next fall.
A city press release notes Diefenbaker Park was selected to host the pilot project in consultation with disc golf users due to its suitable landscape, terrain, and amenities such as parking and washrooms.
Commemorative baskets will be installed at Winskill Park following construction of the baseball fields, “offering an opportunity for informal play and recognizing the long history of disc golf in the park.,” the release states.
With the schematic design now approved, the project is moving into the detailed design phase, with opportunities for additional public consultation planned for “early 2025.” Residents can register to receive updates at letstalk.delta.ca.
Council is expected to vote on the detailed design in early spring, with construction estimated to start in late summer.
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