The new double gym at Birchmount Community Centre.
The new and improved Birchmount Community Centre had its grand re-opening last week with about 200 people on hand to check out the $7.9 million addition that includes a new double gymnasium.
There was a lot of excitement from scores of children who patiently waited through the official ribbon cutting ceremony and then flooded the gym to enjoy an inflatable slide and mini motorized vehicles brought in for the ceremony.
Viewing area of the gym from the new second floor community rooms.
Construction of the new facility took two years and included both the addition of the gym and second floor community rooms as well as other renovations encompassing a total of 21,000 square feet.
“It’s beautiful and it’s bright and it’s airy,” said executive assistant Gail Ross, who was filling in for Ward 20 Councillor Gary Crawford. “I think it’s huge for the community — the basketball nets, the accessible washrooms, parents being able to watch overhead when their children are playing. Something that children can walk to. A safe space.”
The new gym is an important, active space that will allow for an expansion of local programming, according to Howie Dayton, Director, Community Recreation, Parks Forestry and Recreation.
The sports now available at the community centre include basketball, volleyball, badminton and pickleball.
“It allows us to deliver additional service for high demand programming, such as sport programs, summer camps, community programming and rental space. We have big waiting lists for programs so this will allow us to adjust some of those waiting lists through additional space to deliver those programs,” Dayton said.
Fun for the children at the grand re-opening ceremony.
Official ribbon cutting ceremony with children. (L-R) Howie Dayton, Parks Forestry and Recreation, Gail Ross, EA to Councillor Gary Crawford and Parthi Kandavel, School Board Trustee.
Official remarks at grand re-opening from Howie Dayton, Parks Forestry and Recreation.
Gail Ross said most organized recreation programming is for younger children and one of the great things about the new space is that it serves an older teenage population. It can also be used by people who want to stay active but are unlikely to join a private gym.
Max Lee, 20, is a lifeguard at Birchmount Pool and said he’s looking forward to playing drop-in basketball.
“I think it’s great. I think the fact that we have a gym now that people can come to, especially during drop programs, and a lot of it’s going to bring a lot of business. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Lee said.
“We only had the swimming pool here but they didn’t have the gym,” said 18-year old Thinesh Mahathevas. “So now we have everything – basketball, indoor soccer, indoor hockey, more sports for this area and the Birchmount High School students can come in and play after school as well.”
The Birchmount Community Centre has been a jewel in the heart of the neighbourhood since it first opened in 1993.
It is owned by the City of Toronto and provides space to non-profit organizations such as the Scarborough Central Lions Club and Birchmount Bluffs Neighbourhood Centre, which offers extensive programming.
Exterior of the Birchmount Community Centre addition.
