Construction began in early September on the first phase of an envisioned recreation campus for a fast growing, and underserviced, area of south Winnipeg.
The first build is a 16,700-square-foot vocational school to serve students living in the Pembina Trails School Division catchment area which has a population of about 120,000.
The school, which will be operated as a vocational wing at Pembina Trails Collegiate (PTC), will, according to Tim Johnson, chair of the Pembina Trails Board of Trustees, provide students with their first in-house vocational programs in addition to the Technical Vocation Education program that is already being offered at PTC.
“The addition will provide access to programming that will allow 120 students to access vocational programming in the high school, and hundreds of other students to access high school credits in technology education, which includes human ecology and industrial arts programs,” he said.
“The addition of the vocational wing is an important step forward for the Pembina Trails community and an incredible opportunity for our students to begin working towards a career in a skilled trade.”
Among the skilled training programs being offered at the new school, which is scheduled to open in about a year, are machining, welding, culinary arts and pastry arts.
PTC’s vocational wing will also offer classes in technology education and human ecology.
“As well as the indoor spaces, the outdoor vocational work yard allows space for larger construction technology projects,” Johnson pointed out. “Culinary and pastry arts will also have access to garden spaces to supplement their programming with homegrown herbs and vegetables.”
The general contractor for this initial build is Parkwest Projects Ltd.
There are no construction-related challenges or delays anticipated in the course of the build.
The 90,000-square-foot South Winnipeg Recreation Campus, expected to cost $94 million to build, is being developed on a 19 acre site in the southwest corner of the city and just west of the new high school and elementary school in what one of Winnipeg’s fastest-growing neighbourhoods.
At full build out, the vision for the site includes a multi–generational recreation facility with three gyms, a 200 metre walking track, fitness areas, multi-purpose rooms, a community library, a twin arena, a 200 space child care facility, a community spray pad and adjacent park space and athletic fields.
This project is the first-ever regional recreational facility that the City of Winnipeg is building for a community.
Construction was originally slated to begin in 2022 but had to be put off due to funding delays and the impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns on construction costs.
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