City Council to hear update on Aquatic Centre renovations

Prince George City Council will receive an update on the ongoing renovation of the Aquatic Centre at Monday’s meeting.

According to the City, staff have had to pivot plans and adjust priorities since fall 2025, due to the size and complexity of the project.

They say this is common for large capital projects, as new findings can lead to adjustments throughout the project timeline.

However, the City says the project remains on schedule and underbudget.

According to the City, work done so far includes:

• The City signed a contract with the construction manager (CM) in October 2025.
• The CM immediately performed a constructability review of the plans and specifications as well as destructive testing inside and outside of the building. This type of testing could not be thoroughly completed far in advance of the construction phases as it would have resulted in operational issues while the pool continued to be in full use.
• Destructive testing resulted in additional findings that showed further issues not visible from the surface (e.g., water damage, corrosion, mold) that needed to be added and/or clarified to the drawings and specifications.
• The CM performed a preliminary cost estimate to ensure previous estimates were up to date, which resulted in a new estimate that exceeded the City’s budget allowance.
• As the City was unwilling to allow the project to exceed the approved budget, a significant value-engineering effort was put forth, which delayed the release of the construction tender as the updated value engineering items required the consultant to revise plans and specifications.
• Tender documents were provided to the CM and 26 different bid packages were released for tender in January.
• The City signed contracts for construction activities in March.

According to the City, the clean out packing and relocation phase took around three months.

Once the building was closed in January, significant effort was required to empty the building of furniture, aquatics equipment, and maintenance materials.

The pool was also super-chlorinated and allowed to run through pipes, pumps and surge tanks before draining, which took about three weeks.

The following construction and demolition activities have taken place as well:

• Interior finishes demolition including reception area fixtures, tile and carpet, washroom and changeroom fixtures, etc.
• Mechanical and electrical equipment demolition, removal, and disconnection
• Construction site and safety measures including safety barricades, storage setup, and shoring design work

More information on the project is available on the City’s website.