44 Joseph Street will house the new West Parry Sound Recreation and Cultural Centre.
That from Parry Sound Town Councilor Chris McDonald. McDonald says the new location was deemed the most suitable and cost effective after the cost of the YMCA site on Cargill St. started to escalate.
“This [location] was deemed to be the most logical fit for the current design and budget by the board. This is all decided by the pool committee that overseas those decisions,” he says.
McDonald says the property was purchased at a fair market value assessment of 2.8 million dollars, $2 million in cash and $800,000 in charitable receipts.
“We feel like it’s probably one of the best locations in town. It’s cheaper to service from a wastewater and water standpoint. It’s close to the high school, it’s close to residential areas. It’s a flat line that won’t require a lot of blasting and it’s been vacant for many years,” he says.
McDonald says it’ll be a very good spot once it’s developed. He says the timeline for when development will start is up to the governing board.
“We’re excited to have this [project] moving forward,” McDonald says. “Hopefully we’ll see a sign in the ground up there soon stating that it’ll be the future site for the West Parry Sound Recreation and Cultural Center.”