Oshawa looking to tap into provincial funding stream for Rotary Park and Pool ‘Legacy’ project

It only seems like a century since Oshawa residents got to enjoy a dip in Rotary Pool and one local councillor is getting impatient about the lack of the progress on the $25 million ‘legacy project’ redevelopment.

Oshawa Council chose the redevelopment of Rotary Park and pool – closed following the 2019 season due to structural deterioration – as the city’s centennial year Legacy Project and awarded the contract to Maystar General Contractors in January to create the new park at Gibb and Centre Street, just south of downtown.

Construction crews began mobilizing to begin construction in April with a completion date of July 2025 but councillor Rosemary McConkey is concerned that “there’s no work going on.”

The project was on the committee floor Monday morning as the city is hoping to take advantage of a provincial funding stream that could provide half of the costs up to $10 million.

McConkey said she was “upset” over the delays and the escalating costs that has seen the project spike to $25 million from estimates as late as last year that pegged it at $18.8 million.

“If this is not completed by 2025 the city is going to lose a lot of credibility.”

Half of the cost of the project was included in the 2024 budget with $13.78 million for the second phase included in the just released 2025 Mayor’s budget.

Oshawa voted to apply to the provincial Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund, which is in place to invest in new, “transformative community sport and recreation infrastructure,” including assets that have reached the “end of their lifespan.”

Pandemic delays and cost over-runs on the facility have combined to prevent contractors from getting their feet wet on the project and subsequently drove up prices on the redevelopment, which had been enjoyed by families and visitors since the 1920s.

The public was asked in 2021 if they wanted a pool or a skating rink in its place and the overwhelming answer (80 per cent) from the nearly 1,000 responses was to have their beloved pool back, despite city staff’s preference for an outdoor rink instead.

The cost at the time for a new leisure pool, major splash pad and playground amenities was about $8 million.

A lot happened in the ensuing years, with post-pandemic supply chain issues and general inflation driving up the price of all infrastructure projects, with taxpayers now asked to pay triple the original estimate.

The Rotary Park Redevelopment project will include:

• new outdoor pool with four lanes, a zero-entry pool area and toddler pool area
• destination playground
• splash pad
• parking lot
• pathways
• site amenities

Located south of Oshawa’s city centre, the park provides a connection to the Joseph Kolodzie Trail and Brick By Brick Park, and close access to City Hall and downtown destinations and businesses.