Construction began on the Town Park Recreation Center expansion in Port Hope, Ontario. -Peterborough | Globalnews.ca

Ground was broken Friday morning to launch the Town Park Recreation Center in Port Hope, Ontario.

City leaders were joined by Conservative MP Philip Lawrence for Northumberland-Peterborough South and Progressive Conservative MP David Piccini for the official opening ceremony of the $3.4 million facility, which will replace the Ruth Clarke Activities Center (RCAC) as part of the city’s Strategic Plan.

Opened in 2002, the Town Park Recreation Center on McCaul Street has been a key site for many recreational programs, activities, a youth center, day camps, and the annual Port Hope Fair.

The federal government is providing $1.2 million and Ontario $1 million for the project (funding announced in March 2021) after the municipality applied in November 2019 through the Infrastructure Investment Program in Canada. The municipality is providing more than $800,000 for the project. The city had committed $800,000 in the 2020 and 2021 city budgets. Construction is expected to be completed in early 2023.

The expansion will include 6,225 square feet of new program space for the center. Plans include:

• three multipurpose rooms
• accessible restrooms
• welcome hall and customer service area
• additional offices for staff and storage
• a new kitchen
• an outdoor patio area for future development

“We are excited to move to the next step of this project with (contractor) Dalren Limited and see the plans for the downtown expansion come to fruition,” said Port Hope Mayor Bob Sanderson. “The long-awaited expansion project responds to the growth in the senior population and will provide better facilities to serve our seniors and all other residents of Port Hope.

“We have coined the slogan ‘growing together’ as the theme of our project, which points to our growing population, expanding facilities and increasing our multi-generational community opportunities.”

Peter Huffman, chairman of the RCAC senior activity center board, says he’s delighted to see the expansion of the Town Park Recreation Center include space for senior programs and more programming for all ages.

“Creating appropriate and accessible spaces for programs to meet the current and future needs of Port Hope seniors is exciting and we look forward to the opportunities this new space will present,” Huffman said.

Lawrence and Piccini said Port Hope has an active and vibrant senior population that will benefit from the expansion of the recreation center.

“Government works when we work together,” said Lawrence. “That’s why I’m so pleased to have worked with my provincial and municipal counterparts to put the shovels in the ground for the Town Park Recreation Center Expansion Project. I am excited to see the programming this expansion will bring to Port Hope.”

Piccini added: “Our government is proud to work in collaboration with partners at all levels to make this happen for older people in Northumberland-Peterborough South. The Town Park Recreation Center has always been a focal point of our community. This expansion will create more programs and allow for greater participation, keeping seniors healthy, engaged and social.”

The city says current programming at the rec center will continue with “anticipated minor disruptions” during construction.

Updates on the project will be available. on the website of the municipality.