Community Amenities Site Concept Scenarios

On September 19, 2023 City Council approved the concept plan for the future Community Amenities Site. The concept plan provides direction for the long term recreation and community building needs for St. Albert as the City grows to 100,000 and beyond. The plan includes a large aquatics facility, ice arena, gym and fitness space and indoor flexible community space to support a wide variety of community gathering and event needs. Complementing the recreation facility is a future high school site projected to accommodate 1,500 students. Outdoors, the remainder of the site provides a diverse mix of amenities, from community nodes, a spray park, sports fields and courts (basketball, pickleball, tennis) to a bike skills park, trails and open passive areas.

This plan was informed by two rounds of public and community group and partner conversations involving more than 1,500 residents and many community groups. The plan is reflective of our City's needs for recreation and community spaces as we know it today, and will continue to be assessed, adjusted and updated as the project moves forward. This is a long-term process with future opportunities for input planned.

The next steps for the project include assessing different partnership and operating models, completing more detailed technical studies and adding further details to the concept plan based on those investigations. This work will occur throughout 2024.

The City of St. Albert is pleased to share the draft concept plan and design report for the future Community Amenities Site. This plan is a reflection of the many great discussions and great feedback that was received during the recent public engagement on this project. The plan is also informed by site information, technical expertise, existing City policies and guidelines and in consideration of the planned growth of the City.

It is important to note that this is a draft only; there will be further discussion and refinement as the project progresses over the next number of years. The plan is being brought forward for initial conversation with Council through the Standing Committee of the Whole discussions on July 11, 2023. The agenda and information package for that meeting can be found here once available and are also available to the right under Key Documents. .

The City of St. Albert recently completed public engagement to help prioritize new recreation and community amenities for the Community Amenities Site, building on feedback received through our Recreation Needs Assessment work in 2022. An online survey collected input from residents with 1,972 survey respondents providing information on what was most important for the new Community Amenities Site, including sharing perspectives on costing, phasing, desired amenities, and site layout and access. Through various in person pop-ups and open houses, the project team spoke to more than 650 residents directly, with many more providing written feedback at displays in Servus Credit Union Place and St. Albert Place. The City engaged with 22 different community groups including sport, recreation and other community organizations, alongside St. Albert school boards, regional municipal partners and Indigenous partners to provide their perspective on needs for this new site. All the feedback received has been summarized into the What We Heard Report (Manda to add link), also available on the project webpage. We thank all participants for providing their valuable input.

In addition to the public engagement, the recommended plan for the Community Amenities Site will consider many inputs, including the Recreation Amenity Needs Assessment, Council priority, operating and development costs, existing facility usage data alongside trends and anticipated growth for the City. Based on all these inputs, a draft concept plan and design report is being created and is anticipated to be discussed with Council in summer 2023, with further decisions and direction from Council anticipated in fall 2023. Planning for new community amenities is a complex, multi-year process that has many stages and decisions to be made. We are excited to continue this important work and look forward to continuing to work with the community as this project progresses.

For further information, including the What We Heard and Frequently Asked Questions that resulted from the engagement, please see the Key Documents section of this page located to the right.

Thank you to the many people who provided input online, interacted with the displays at Servus Credit Union Place and St. Albert Place, and participated in the in-person and virtual engagement sessions. All feedback will be compiled into a What We Heard Report that will be shared later in April.

Join us at one of the following engagement opportunities to learn more about the Community Amenities Site project and the possible concept scenarios. Your participation will allow for better understanding of the priorities for the site and provides an opportunity to build awareness of the project, the project steps and process for future development.

Public Open House

Drop in, review site information and the concept plan scenarios, talk to experts and City Staff and provide your feedback. Children are welcome, coffee and light refreshments will be provided.

• Tuesday, February 21 from 4 to 8 p.m.
  • Location: Reliance the Furnace Company Community Room, Servus Credit Union Place

Pop-Ups

Come meet with members of the project team, view concept plans and provide your feedback as you visit the Arden Theatre, take your family to hockey practice, or even attend the Fire and Ice Festival!

• Sunday, February 19 from 1 to 4 p.m.
  • Location: Servus Credit Union Place, First Floor Mezzanine
• Monday, February 20 from noon to 4 p.m.
  • Location: Fire and Ice Festival, Lacombe Lake Park
• Wednesday, February 22 from 3 to 6 p.m.
  • Location: St. Albert Place Lobby

The City of St. Albert recently conducted public engagement on a Recreation Needs Assessment to understand and help prioritize present and future recreation needs of the community.

An online survey was the primary method used to collect input from residents with 1,879 respondents providing information on their current recreation activities as well as sharing their vision for the future of recreation in St. Albert. The City also heard from 34 different community stakeholder groups including sport, recreation and other community organizations, alongside St. Albert school boards, regional municipal partners and Indigenous partners to provide their perspective on the future of recreation in St. Albert.

The feedback received was very important in the prioritization of recreation amenities and the City thanks the community for its valuable input.

RESULTS AND NEXT STEPS

The prioritization of amenities being presented to City Council are listed in the What We Heard Report and in the Recreation Amenity Needs Assessment Prioritization.

Indoor pools were ranked as the highest need through the needs assessment model. Administration’s recommendation to Council is to explore building an aquatics facility in the future as a high-priority need. However, there is still a significant amount of work to do and decisions to make before a future facility is finalized. Ultimately the decision rests with Council.

Planning for new community amenities is a complex, multi-year process that has many stages and decisions to be made. There will continue to be public and stakeholder engagement opportunities throughout the concept planning and design phases.