Kingston’s Rideau Heights Community Centre getting closer to reality

Kingston’s new Rideau Heights Community Centre is just months away from opening its doors and construction is on time and budget, according to city officials.

Adam McCluskey is the manager of Kingston Recreation Facilities and says the recreational and social hub is scheduled for completion in early 2018.

“It is a true community hub, it’s got a kitchen, it’s got a gymnasium, it has a library, it has a lot of multi-functional, multi-use purpose spaces that can be cut up or divided or programmed any which way.  There’s no one set purpose for each space, it’s up to the imagination.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It is a true community hub, it's got a kitchen, it's got a gymnasium, it has a library, it has a lot of multi-functional, multi-use purpose spaces that can be cut up or divided or programmed any which way.  There's no one set purpose for each space, it's up to the imagination."

The idea to build a recreational and social hub in the north end was first floated ten years ago. Kingston’s Recreation Programs and Leisure Services Manager Jaclyn Grimmon says as the opening date gets ever closer, so does the anticipation.

“We haven’t moved in the direction of this community hub approach before — but it really has, it’s developed naturally and all these partners have come on board to fill the gaps in areas — so we’ll have from young, pre-school right up to seniors programs.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We haven't moved in the direction of this community hub approach before — but it really has, it's developed naturally and all these partners have come on board to fill the gaps in areas — so we'll have from young, pre-school right up to seniors programs."

The new centre is slated to cost $11.5 million.