Mohawk poised to break ground on new rec centre
http://www.thespec.com/news/local/ar...new-rec-centre
Mohawk College is about to break ground on its new recreation centre.
College president Rob MacIsaac said work on the $35-million facility will be under way within a month. The Mohawk Recreation Centre or MRC will replace the school’s aging recreation facilities, many of which haven’t had significant upgrades since the main building was constructed in 1967, as well as contribute to what MacIsaac calls “a sense of campus life.”
“The college has traditionally been a place where students have come, gone to class and left,” MacIsaac explained. “We see our rec facilities as being an important part of campus life and an important part of recognizing that our students do more than just learn.”
The 65,000-square-foot building will feature a triple gymnasium and an indoor running track as well as health and wellness and fitness centres. It will be built alongside the existing student centre on the north end of campus, near Fennell Avenue.
The project will allow the college to consolidate its now-fragmented services in one building as well as provide opportunities to expand programming.
Existing recreational facilities, meanwhile, will be retrofitted for other uses by the college. While MacIsaac said no plans are set in stone for that space, he suspects one portion will be used to accommodate the police foundations program when it moves from Brantford to the Fennell Campus.
The $35-million price tag was financed up front by the college, but will be reimbursed through student fees, said students’ association president Dan Clark.
Full-time students will be charged $65 per semester once the facility is up and running in late 2013, while other students, along with alumni and staff, will be able to purchase memberships through the athletics department.
“We’ve been working on this project for the last five years that I’ve been here and probably a bit before that as well,” Clark said. “It’s definitely long overdue.”
The college also wants students to have a say on programming at the new MRC. For more information or to fill out an online survey, visit
www.mohawkcollege.ca/gymposium.