Your mayor and members of city council have had a number of opportunities already to see the progress of construction of the new  $18 million Côte Saint-Luc Aquatic and Community Centre  (the  ACC), which is expected to open its doors on Parkhaven Avenue by September.  We had our latest sneak preview a few days ago and I was just astonished at how much work has been done since they first broke ground last fall.

The complex will include a 10-lane competition pool (which I am standing by above), a recreational pool, the Senior Social Centre, multipurpose rooms for meetings and banquets, a satellite public library, a dance studio, an art studio, an exercise room with physical fitness equipment, a games room, a youth drop-in room, a kids gymnasium room, a babysitting service for parents using the facility, a coffee shop, and an exterior terrace.

Our ACC has been a project that community leaders have long dreamed of. As a former competitive swimmer, one of  Mayor Anthony Housefather’s  dreams has been to bring an indoor swimming pool to the city. Our competition pool will allow us to have a swim team, a master’s team, a synchronized swimming team, a water polo team, and other activities such as free swim, swimming lessons for older kids, and programs to prepare them to become lifeguards.”  The recreational pool will also provide games and fun for families, a beach area, swim lessons for younger children, aquasize classes and more.

The governments of Quebec and Canada have given Côte Saint-Luc grants totaling up to a maximum of $11.57 million, which equals two-thirds of the costs of building the facility. Mayor Housefather and councillors Mitchell Brownstein and Ruth Kovac (pictured above with Councillor Glenn J. Nashen) are overseeing the project. City Manager Tanya Abramovitch and Parks and Recreation Director David Taveroff are the key leaders among senior staff while we are very fortunate to have someone of the calibre of Anthony Palumbo to take care of the day-to-day operations of the work crew

I am very excited, as the Côte Saint-Luc City Councillor responsible for sponsorship, that we have engaged the services of   BNP Strategies Philanthropic Management (BNP) to conduct a feasibility study for a fundraising campaign for the ACC. When I was first elected and handed this portfolio I immediately set out to  establish a process where we could move towards the areas of event and program sponsorship and ultimately naming rights. Within two years of the start of our first mandate a series of guidelines were approved by council. Sponsorship agreements for events and of certain publications also started  to take shape. The coming of the ACC, I believe, provides really opportunities for naming rights.   I am anxious to see the case statement BNP presents to us in the early summer.

 
Councillor Sam Goldbloom likes what he sees.