On October 15, 2022, citizens of Vernon voted 61% in favour of borrowing up to $121M to develop the Vernon Active Living Centre. The facility will be located within the newly designated Kin Race Track Athletic Park, near the Kal Tire Place and Kal Tire Place North twin arenas.
On November 28, Vernon City Council adopted Loan Authorization Bylaw #5908 to borrow up to $121M, inclusive of all costs, for the development and construction of the Active Living Centre.
On December 12, Vernon City Council endorsed the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) process to develop the facility. IPD has been approved by Mayor and Council as the collaborative framework that best ensures the Active Living Centre has a strong focus on accessibility, inclusivity, and sustainability while creating a fun and family friendly environment.
IPD PROJECT TEAM
A City of Vernon Active Living Centre IPD project team has been established, including: Chris Sheel, former Manager, Procurement Services, and Doug Ross, former Director, Recreation Services. They will oversee the project and act as the owner’s representatives. Joining Chris and Doug is Crystal Vandermeulen of VDM Consulting. The City’s team will be assisted by Colliers Project Leaders, providing IPD Advisory Services. Colliers Project Leaders will coach and guide the group through the implementation of the IPD model. The purpose of the IPD project team is to facilitate the collaborative design, construction, and commissioning of the Active Living Centre.
THE IPD PROCESS
An important aspect of IPD is that the model merges all parties into a single shared multi-party contract. It transforms the traditional Design-Bid-Build, low bid, change order, adversarial relationship, into one that is team focused and value added, encouraging behaviours that lead to exceptional project performance and value. IPD merges the owner, architect, general contractor, and trade partners early on, to form a team that together conducts a validation phase. The validation phase is conducted over approximately 4-months and project partners together perform preliminary design, intensive cost estimating, and agree upon a Target Cost to owner for the project. This process delivers the kind of detailed and committed budget certainty early on that the City of Vernon requires for this high-profile project.
ACTIVE LIVING CENTRE OBJECTIVES
In selecting and utilizing IPD, the City can achieve a higher level of confidence in ensuring the prioritization and delivery of the following objectives as established by Vernon City Council:
• Achieve the goal of the Greater Vernon Active Living Centre Feasibility Study, “to find an indoor facility mix that meets the current and future needs of a growing community and has the opportunity to attract new residents and visitors to the Greater Vernon area”.
• The facility is accessible, inclusive, fun, family oriented and designed for participants of all ages and abilities and includes all facility features as proposed in the Greater Vernon Active Living Centre Feasibility Study and provided to the public during the referendum communication campaign.
• The design of the Active Living Centre reflects the Syilx culture.
• The facility be net-zero ready. The facility meets or exceeds the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Gold Certification.
• Budget not exceeded.
• Projected facility opening date by September 2026.
The IPD team will use the listed objectives and embed them in the Active Living Centre project from the beginning. These objectives will be quantified and further refined during the validation phase.
PROPOSED PROJECT TIMELINE
In general, the IPD project process includes the following phases:
PRE-VALIDATION PHASE ACTIVITY
On April 17, 2023, the City selected Colliers Project Leaders to act as the IPD Advisor for the Active Living Centre project. Colliers Project Leaders is a well-respected project management firm in Canada with more than 30 years’ experience. Most importantly, Colliers Project Leaders have become a leader in the IPD model and have extensive experience assisting owners and teams to successfully complete their projects.
The City’s Request for Proposals (RFP) for Architect Services for the Active Living Centre closed on April 28, 2023. On May 19, 2023, following a thorough review and interview process, Group2 Architecture Interior Design Ltd. was selected to enter negotiations for the IPD Agreement. Group2 brings over a decade of IPD experience and extensive experience designing similar recreation facilities.
Additionally, the RFP for General Contractor Services for the Active Living Centre closed on May 12, 2023, and is expected to be awarded to the successful General Contractor in early June.
Procurement for the remaining IPD Partners (Consultants and Major Trades) will be released via RFP in the coming weeks.
FACILITY TOURS
Members of the IPD Project Team and Architect will be touring several facilities in other municipalities (including pools, gymnasiums, and fitness centres), to gather information and inspiration for the design of the Active Living Centre.
PUBLIC CONSULTATION
The conceptual design for the Active Living Centre was based on extensive public consultation conducted for the Greater Vernon Recreation Master Plan and the Active Living Centre Feasibility Study. Additional public consultation will take place this year, between June and December, to help refine the final design of the facility.
A new Active Living Centre project website has been launched at www.vernonalc.ca
Residents are encouraged to visit this website for project progress and upcoming public consultation periods. Residents may also follow the City on its social media channels @cityofvernon for updates.