The Town of East Gwillimbury has awarded the contract for the construction of its Health and Active Living Plaza to Aquicon Construction Co. Ltd.

The town made the announcement on September 7.

Construction of the 85,000-square-foot facility in Queensville, near Leslie Street and Jim Mortson Drive, will take place over approximately 26 months and is slated to start next month.

The town first proposed the idea of a new Health and Active Living Plaza in its 2010 Parks and Recreation Master Plan. The facility’s opening was planned to align with the town’s reaching a population of 40,000. The town now expects to reach that milestone within the next two years.

The cost to build the facility is $76.5 million, which will be funded entirely through development charges. Construction of a park and surrounding open spaces will be planned for and initiated when the Health and Active Living Plaza is nearing completion.

“East Gwillimbury is ready and excited for shovels in the ground and construction to begin on the Health and Active Living Plaza,” said Mayor Virginia Hackson. “After an extensive planning and public consultation process, we’re thrilled to approach the construction phase of this project and we’re doing so in a fiscally responsible way at no cost to the taxpayer and with no debt. In addition to a new library, recreational space and community services, this facility will bring the first aquatics centre to EG which is something our community has needed for a very long time.”

Once complete, the facility will provide recreation, health, arts and culture programming, community services, and continuous learning under a single roof.

The facility will also feature industry leading environmental design, an aquatics centre, a new library branch, maker space and sound studio, gymnasium with a running track, fitness space, program spaces with a teaching kitchen, and an interior boardwalk with public art.

Doors are planned to open in 2025.