PRESENTATION OF THE QUARTIER SPORTIF & COMMUNAUTAIRE (QSC)

The term "Quartier" refers to a group of sports and recreational facilities and municipal buildings grouped together in the existing Danyluk Park quadrilateral. The main finding is that many of the municipal facilities located in this district are obsolete and will have to be replaced sooner or later.

Council's vision for the Quartier Sportif & Communautaire (QSC) proposes solutions involving phased planning over several years, in order to stagger and spread the cost of the various investments. This approach will also optimize the resources required and limit the negative impact on users, and all residents more broadly.

At the heart of the QSC is the construction of a new Community and Sports Centre (Recreation centre) with gymnasium and indoor pool, to replace the current "REC" building, which has exceeded its capacity for over 15 years, with the result that it no longer meets the needs and desires of the community.

PROGRESSION OF THE QSC

Based on the vision of  members of Council and following extensive public consultation, the QSC project will unfold in various phases.

To learn more about the progress of the project, which will improve the Town of Mount Royal's infrastructure over the long term, we invite you to consult the sections below regularly:

All news about the Quartier sportif & communautaire are added below, from the most recent to the oldest one: 

12/02/2023  Community & Sports Centre - It's On!

26/05/2023  Tabling of the Consultation Report on the Quartier Sportif et Communautaire

15/02/2023  Presentation of the Quartier Sportif & Communautaire Vision

06/02/2023  Quartier Sportif & Communautaire: Learn More About this Vision

At the heart of the Quartier Sportif & Communautaire's vision is the construction of a new Community and Sports Centre (Recreation Centre), which will feature an indoor pool, gymnasium, multi-purpose and training rooms, art studios and space for our community groups, to replace the current REC building.

The needs are real and pressing; the REC has exceeded its capacity for more than 15 years, and waiting lists for activities continue to grow. The proposed new Center responds to the aspirations and needs of all Townies: families, young people, parents, seniors, active retirees, sports lovers, arts and culture enthusiasts, and so on.

In the longer term, Council's vision also calls for improvements to the neighborhood's infrastructure, such as :

  • construction of a new fire station and municipal services building ;
  • The construction of a new arena;
  • Upgrading the old arena;
  • Enhancement of green spaces;
  • Reconstruction of the outdoor pool and clubhouse;
  • Facilities for soccer, basketball, pickleball ;
  • Etc.

On February 1 and 2, 2023, members of Council held two public presentations of this vision. Over 400 people attended the live presentations, either in person or online.

For anyone interested in finding out more, please see below:

-  The two recorded videos of the Mayor's presentation and the period of exchanges with the public in person and online.

Click here to see the video of the February 1, 2023 presentation / Click here to see the video of the February 2, 2023 presentation

-  The PowerPoint  used during these presentations

 Frequently asked questions 

These presentations were followed by a public consultation to better understand residents needs.

In fact, an online survey and a dedicated e-mail address (quartiersc@ville.mont-royal.qc.ca) were set up for several weeks, enabling residents to express their opinions and suggestions to members of Council. 

Residents responded in large numbers to the invitation, which led to the tabling of a consultation report on the Quartier Sportif & Communautaire, produced by the Morin Relations Publiques firm that had been commissioned for this purpose.

To find out more, please consult the following section "Consultation report on the QSC".

The Town of Mount Royal has mandated the firm Morin Relations Publiques to carry out an information and consultation campaign with the Townies to better understand their needs in terms of sports and community infrastructures within the Town and to better understand their expectations of their elected officials with regard to the construction of a new Community and Sports Centre (Recreation centre), The Town of Mount Royal has mandated the firm Morin Relations Publiques to carry out an information and consultation campaign with the Townies to better understand their needs in terms of sports and community infrastructures on the territory of the Town and to better understand their expectations of their elected officials with regard to the construction of a new Community and Sports Centre (Recreation Centre).

In a nutshell, the sample totals 1,090 people who participated in one or more of the consultation actions between February 1 and March 5, 2023.

The main observations are:

  • 88% of French-speaking respondents and 91.3% of English-speaking respondents agreed or totally agreed that Mount Royal's sports, recreational and community facilities are outdated and no longer meet the needs of the population.
  • 89.6% of Francophone respondents and 86.3% of Anglophone respondents agreed or strongly agreed that if they had access to modern facilities nearby, they and their families would be frequent users.
  • 92.5% of Francophone respondents and 95.4% of Anglophone respondents agree or strongly agree that, overall, they are in favor of the Town investing in its sports and community infrastructure.
  • 90.8% of Francophone respondents and 89.2% of Anglophone respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the construction of a new Recreation Center is necessary.
  • 84.6% of French-speaking respondents and 88.7% of English-speaking respondents agree or strongly agree that the preservation and enhancement of green spaces within the Quartier sportif et communautaire quadrilateral is necessary.
  • 91.1% of French-speaking respondents and 84.2% of English-speaking respondents said they were likely to frequent the sports components of the Recreation Center often (weekly) or occasionally (monthly).
  • 47.4% of French-speaking respondents and 44.8% of English-speaking respondents said that an annual tax increase of around $450 or $550 for the average single-family home would be a reasonable price to pay for access to new, modern and safe sports and community facilities close to home.
  • Respondents are strongly in favor of the Quartier Sportif & Communautaire project, and particularly of the Sports and Community Center. They are eager to see the project come to fruition. They question, however, why the project was put on ice in 2020 and what is different about the one proposed in 2023. A lot of sometimes contradictory information is circulating, and it's important to put forward the Town's official sources of information.
  • The consultation clearly shows that respondents are strongly in favor of the Town investing in new sports and community infrastructures. However, many were keen to know more about the cost of building the new Sports and Community Centre, its operating costs once built, and the cost of subsequent phases.
  • 42 residents took the trouble to write a detailed e-mail via the dedicated mailbox. Many of these e-mails contain questions or refer to information that is sometimes incorrect or requires clarification. 

Read the full report in pdf format. (In French only)

N.B. The following names, Community and Sports Centre (CSC) and Recreation Centre, refer to the same future building.

The project is finally moving forward!

Following public consultation and analysis of the results, Council decided to go ahead with the construction of a new, modern and safe Community and Sports Centre (CSC). It will meet residents' needs for the promotion and practice of a wide range of physical, cultural and community activities.

The guiding principles behind the elected officials' vision and decision are:

  • Responding to citizens’ demands and needs;
  • Conservation some of the initial project components;
  • Maintaining services during the construction with no need to relocate staff;
  • Preserving and enhancing green spaces;
  • Completion of a more cost-effective, better adapted project;
  • Constructing infrastructures for today and tomorrow;
  • Improving the architectural integration on Roosevelt Blvd. 

A first significant milestone

A first step was taken at last May's Council meeting, when Members adopted a resolution to proceed with a call for tenders for a construction-design project.

Mayor Peter J. Malouf had this to say about the future CSC at the opening of the May 16, 2023 regular Council meeting:

"I am pleased to announce tonight that we are taking the first concrete steps towards the realization of this long-awaited infrastructure for our residents. My colleagues at Council and I have been discussing the various options and possibilities for many weeks. We are convinced that the second version (v2) presented during the consultation evenings will best meet the needs and expectations of the residents by being executed in a design-build mode.

Therefore, this evening we mandate the administration to take the required actions to carry out the project. In addition, we approve the bid weighting and evaluating system to launch a call for tenders in a design-build.

So good news! Community and Sports Centre file is progressing and taking shape."

With a concern to keep costs to a minimum, the Council has opted for the design-build approach to build the CSC, which is the main component of the Quartier Sportif & Communautaire.

What is the preliminary project schedule* for building the CSC?

June 2023      :  Call for tenders for professionals to prepare the Functional and Technical Program (FTP), the document that precisely defines our requirements (first step of a design-build project).

Summer 2023:  Preparation of the FTP and performance specification.

Winter 2024   :  Call for tenders for design-build contract.

Summer 2024:  Awarding of the design-build contract.

Fall 2024        :   Start of work.

Fall 2026        :   End of work.

Winter 2027    : Commissioning.

*This is a preliminary schedule that may be changed.

To find out more about the Community and Sports Centre, please consult on a regular basis the Frequently asked questions, as well as this Quartier Sportif & Communautaire web page.

Watch videos summarizing Quartier sportif & communautaire project:

 

The first video is presented by Mayor Peter J. Malouf, District 7 Councillor Sébastien Dreyfuss and Recreation, Culture and Community Activities, Director Kevin Whitehall. It summarizes the Quartier Sportif & Communautaire project.

The second video is presented by Mayor Peter J. Malouf and District 7 Councillor Sébastien Dreyfuss. It summarizes the conclusions of the public consultation.