‘Full pace’ construction at Heritage & Community Centre in Pickering, with opening set for April 2026

Construction is proceeding at “full pace” on the $65 million Pickering Heritage & Community Centre, set to open on the Pickering Museum Village grounds in the spring of 2026.

The semi-annual progress report on the building – Pickering’s first net-zero facility – will be on the agenda for Monday’s Executive Committee meeting as council anticipates the opening of the city’s first new recreation centre since the community centre named for former mayor George Ashe (father of current mayor Kevin) more than 20 years ago.

The project is nearly one-third finished, with foundation and structural steel superstructure expected to be mostly complete by the end of the year, with roofing and enclosure of the building envelope to happen over the winter. Focus will shift to interior infrastructure, primarily including HVAC and electrical systems, starting in the spring.

Mobilization on the project began in February, with the future community and heritage centre to offer an array of amenities, including an exhibit gallery, a multi-purpose hall (with stage), a local history experience centre, a kitchen suitable for public programs, a library express kiosk, a gift shop, outdoor program spaces and museum and heritage collections storage space.

The report from Pickering CAO Marisa Carpino declared work on site has been progressing steadily, benefitting from a mild summer and autumn with generally good weather conditions. Most of the in-ground work has been completed, including foundations and related site infrastructure. Structural steel is on site and being installed with roofing expected to start in or around December 2024.

The city is also continuing to get feedback from residents, with a four-week public engagement campaign running until December 8 well underway. The campaign includes a city-wide survey, three Open Houses and promotion at various pop-up events.

A transfer of lands to the west from the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority – required for the overflow parking lot – has also been finalized, while construction traffic has been diverted away from the nearby hamlet of Greenwood to minimize disruptions on the surrounding neighbourhoods.

Staff are also looking into naming rights for the building and getting public feedback on honouring former mayor John Anderson with his name on the community centre’s exhibit gallery.

The Pickering Heritage and Community Centre has been an ongoing project from a design perspective since 2018 and the city had already spent almost $2 million before any shovel hit the ground. COVID delayed the facility and the subsequent supply chain issues that plagued projects all around the world then conspired to drive the price up.

Pickering Council finally accepted a construction tender for the project in February after saying no to three bids in 2023 as being too far over budget.

The winning bid on the 44,000 sq. ft. building (submitted by J.R. Certus Construction Co. Ltd.) came in at just under $52 million, with the total cost pegged at about $64.7 million. With the HST rebate factored in, the final tally to taxpayers is $58.24 million.

The project will be funded through a variety of means, including $2.4 million from the Library Reserve Fund, $8 million from the Parks and Recreation Reserve Fund and the federal grants. Some $8.3 million will be financed through debentures, which are expected to be repaid by future development charges with annual repayment charges estimated at $759,359 per year.

The community centre will feature enhanced insulation, triple glazed windows, solar panels, air source heat pumps and other similar features that in combination will meet the net zero design targets for the project.

“This milestone marks Pickering’s first new community centre in decades, and our first zero-carbon facility. This project reaffirms our steadfast commitment to preserving local arts and natural heritage, while spearheading sustainable initiatives to build a strong, more resilient community for generations to come,” Mayor Kevin Ashe said at the groundbreaking, while also thanking the federal government for $16.5 million in grants from Infrastructure Canada ($12.5 million) and Heritage Canada ($4 million) to get the project up and running.

The project remains on schedule to open for public use in April 2026.