North Bay Community & Recreation Centre

North Bay City Council has directed staff to develop and issue a Progressive Design Build Request for Proposals (RFP) for the construction of a new Community and Recreation Centre.

The proposed facility is slated to replace the aging West Ferris Arena and will be situated at the Steve Omischl Sports Field Complex on Lakeshore Drive. This new facility would ensure current recreational services are maintained within an upgraded and modernized setting and include an additional ice pad to augment the existing inventory.

The RFP is scheduled to be issued early this year, with substantial construction completion targeted for 2025. The project has secured approval for $25.78 million under the Government of Canada’s Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program and would be required to meet Version 2 of the Canada Green Building Council’s Zero Carbon Building Design Standard.

A previously proposed trident design for the project has been set aside due to the lowest bid received in response to an earlier RFP for a traditional fixed-priced contract, which amounted to approximately $70 million.

The Progressive Design Build approach is aimed at reducing the overall project cost through early collaboration with a designated design-builder. This collaborative effort will help to better mitigate known risks and will enable the City and design-builder to reach a mutually agreed-upon price.

Throughout the design progression, City staff and Council can actively engage with the design-builder to make necessary adjustments aligned with cost expectations. Importantly, the City is not locked into a contract and retains the flexibility to reconsider the scope of the project if the costs are deemed prohibitively expensive.