News Release

Celebrating the Opening of a New Community Hub in Clareview

Edmonton’s northeast community was filled with excitement as residents celebrated the grand opening of theClareview Community Recreation Centreand Clareview Library on January 17, 2015.

“The City of Edmonton connects individuals, families, groups, cultures and communities to the facilities and services they need to thrive,” said Mayor Don Iveson. “The new Clareview Community Recreation Centre and Clareview Library is a facility that will meet the physical, mental and spiritual needs of those in the community, and we are excited that Edmontonians will now be able to use this fabulous facility.”

The 344,000 sq ft facility, and surrounding district park, includes a recreation centre, library, multicultural centre and high school. The majority of the facility opened to the public in December 2014 with the school opening in September 2014.The recreation centre includes an aquatics area, fitness centre, gymnasium, running track and children’s play area. The district park includes a skate park, sports fields, artificial turf, and baseball diamonds.

The City of Edmonton contributed $104.3 million toward the $122.8 million cost of the project. The Government of Alberta contributed $18.5 million to the project through its Municipal Sustainability Initiative that the City has directed towards the facility and district park.

“The Alberta Government is proud to partner with the City of Edmonton through the Municipal Sustainability Initiative on this important community infrastructure,” said Diana McQueen, Minister of Alberta Municipal Affairs. “We look forward to continuing to work with our municipal partners on their priorities.”

One feature that is unique to this facility is the Clareview Multicultural Centre. This dynamic space offers meeting rooms, office spaces and computer resources for use by multicultural groups and organizations, as well as lounge areas for youth and seniors to gather and connect.

“The Clareview Multicultural Centre is a place that welcomes all cultural groups under one roof, and where diversity of cultural expressions, ethnicities, faiths and traditions is respected and celebrated,” says Kemoh Mansaray, Interim Chairperson of the Clareview Multicultural Centre. “The Centre offers groups and individuals a place to gather, connect and share, promoting social cohesion, cross-cultural networking and a sense of belonging. It is a place we can all be proud to call our own.”

Another special feature of this facility is Edmonton Catholic Schools’Cardinal Collins High School Academic Centre. The centre offers students from across Edmonton the opportunity to complete or upgrade their high school requirements.

“Cardinal Collins High School Academic Centre is a unique concept that gives students an alternative way of completing high school or taking additional courses for acceptance into post-secondary institutions,” said Joan Carr, Superintendent of Edmonton Catholic Schools. “Our partnership with the City of Edmonton is a fiscally-responsible way of allowing our students to achieve their goals, while having access to a number of services on one campus.”

The facility includes the new Clareview Library which offers computer stations, a community program room, study rooms and express checkout stations. The Government of Alberta contributed $9 million towards the Clareview Library through its Municipal Sustainability Initiative.

“Partnering with the City of Edmonton is an ideal way to provide long-awaited Edmonton Public Library services to the Clareview community,” said Linda Cook, Chief Executive Officer of Edmonton Public Library. “The location enables us to focus on offering customers a variety of resources and programming to meet changing and growing community needs, and grants everyone a beautiful view of both the entire pool area and the sports fields.”

The City of Edmonton allocated 1% of the construction budget for public art through the City’s Percent for Art policy. The Edmonton Arts Council coordinates the policy and selected three pieces of art, which are: Eclipse, by Christian Moeller, located near the running track;Lettercloud, by Julia Jamrozik and Coryn Kempster, located in the Clareview Library; and Elemental, by Lynn Malin, located in Cardinal Collins High School Academic Centre.

In keeping with the City’s environmental goals, this facility has been built to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy Efficient Design) silver standards. The facility incorporates sustainable features such as green roofs, efficient mechanical systems, reduced water consumption and efficient lighting systems. The facility is also close to the Clareview LRT station and is located along bus routes.

The facility was designed by Architecture Tkalcic Bengert (ATB) and Teeple Architects, with Clark Builders leading overall construction.