Cambridge City Council has unanimously voted in support of the schematic design for the much-anticipated expansion and renovation of the Preston Memorial Auditorium, expected to be completed in 2025.
The project is estimated at $29,164,472.
The new project design comes in at $652,307 over budget, an improvement from the $8.16 million original design plan.
“We started at $13 million We are now at $29 million. This has been going on for three years and we need to move forward,” said councillor Mike Mann at Tuesday night’s special council meeting.
Council approved increasing the capital forecast for the Preston Auditorium expansion construction and design projects by $660,557 funded from the Capital Works Reserve Fund in the amount of $420,000 and from development changes in the amount of $240,165.
“Quite a bit of time has past since we last met with you and the team has been very busy reviewing the program and user feedback to look at space layouts and to diligently make a design that we feel that we can get really excited about,” said Shane Taylor, project manager at the City of Cambridge.
Project plans include the renovation of the existing ice pad to make it NHL size, adding change rooms, office space, training, laundry, storage for the Cambridge Rivulettes, and storage space for Cambridge Minor Hockey.
The project would also include the addition of dry land training and multi-purpose areas, the renovation of existing change rooms and washrooms, and an upgrade to the existing banquet hall.
Council also unanimously agreed to increase the seating capacity to the original 450 seats with a budget increase of $550,000 with $350,030 funded from the Capital Works Reserve Fund and $199,970 from development charges.
“I really want to support this. Many of us have talked about the seating and felt it was really important. I know that it was important to the community, and I am very thankfully that this was brought forward,” said councillor Donna Reid.
Taylor said the team has worked hard to keep the building elements that contribute to having a sense of ‘place’ at Preston Auditorium.
“It has a lot of history, and we don’t want to eliminate that. We want to maintain that and highlight our history by partnering with the Cambridge Sports Hall of Fame. They will have some space in the main lobby and in other locations for display cases,” Taylor said.
“We are proud of that partnership. As a project team we are also proud that we were able to shoot for a target of an approved budget and we got really close. We believe we have come up with a solution that meets almost every need.”
Next steps include detailed design, followed by working drawings and tendering. Staff will work to procure a project management consultant to assist with construction administration duties during the construction phase. The Preston Auditorium expansion is a key project in the Recreation Facilities Improvement Strategy to revitalize aging recreation facilities.
"Staff have done a tremendous job. I really want to commend them because they have been fiscally responsible while trying to meet the needs that we have identified and that we want to address,” Mann said.
“While being fiscally responsible, we have a responsibility to be accountable to the community. I think that what we have done through this process, has proven that we can be fiscally responsible and accountable as well as meet the needs and expectations of our community.”
