Corkery residents still waiting on stalled community centre project — three years later

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For nearly three years, the Corkery Community Centre has remained closed to residents.

In 2020, the City of Ottawa planned to expand the centre to host larger community events and include accessibility additions, including accessible washrooms and a vestibule. The 4,176-square-foot addition was to be built on the north side of the buidling to create more space for activities.

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But in December, West Carleton Coun. Clarke Kelly announced that the city terminated the contract with Premier Construction, the company assigned to the expansion project in the rural community west of Stittsville. As a result, construction has been halted.

“It was a nice investment for a needed expanded facility,” Kelly said. “That good feeling has been tainted over the last couple of years with delays and excuses from the contractor.”

Pierre Gravel, who sits on the board of directors of Corkery Community Association (CCA), said the previous community centre wasn’t serving the residents well since it was too small to hold larger events.

Former West Carleton Coun. Eli El-Chantiry advocated strongly for the expansion project, which at the time was estimated to cost around $1.5 million dollars.

In 2022, El-Chantiry told the Ottawa Citizen he viewed the community centre expansion as one of his accomplishments as city councillor. Despite repeated requests in recent weeks, El-Chantiry was unable to be reached for comment about the project delays.

Construction officially began on June 27, 2022.

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However, Gravel said it took months for the City of Ottawa to award a contract to a construction company. The centre was closed off before construction started, which blocked access to the children’s outdoor play structure and the skating link.

“Things were slow going,” Gravel said, referencing several labour issues and material supply issues. He said the project manager and the site manager were replaced multiple times, which caused further delays in the construction.

In a recent email statement, Matthew Knight, manager of design and construction at the City of Ottawa, said that they are currently in discussions to explore “alternative options” to complete the project.

“The City is working with subcontractors to complete the immediately critical tasks and with the Surety to plan the remaining work,” Knight stated.

Kelly said now that the contractor has been terminated, the city has to work alongside the bonding company to “figure out a path forward.” Despite continued delays, Kelly said he believes the community will look back on the process as a positive step forward to completing the centre’s expansion.

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“Hopefully over the next couple of months, we’ll have some more… dates that we can give to the public in terms of completion,” Kelly said.

Gravel visited the construction site daily and made a point of documenting all changes including photos and notes.

“Nothing happens for a year so that was a bit of a big disappointment for the community,” Gravel said.

Gravel said he feels optimistic now that the community’s outdoor rink opened. The ongoing construction in prior years closed the rink, leaving residents frustrated.

“We did not want to miss a second season without a rink so that was very near and dear to our hearts,” Gravel said.

The city and Hydro One have made progress on getting the hydro line connected to the building, he added, but all other construction activities are still on hold as the city awaits a decision from the bonding company on how and when construction will resume.

Kelly said that despite the community centre’s closure for over two years, it hasn’t deterred “dedicated” volunteers to continue providing programming for the community. He said residents continue to host activities at schools and even in their basements.

“My hope is that soon … they have a functional community centre where they can gather,” Kelly said. “That’s the whole idea of the community centre.”

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