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Helen Healey thinks the soon-to-be mothballed Minoru Aquatic Centre could serve as an aviation museum.
Photo by Chung Chow
Tear it down, or keep it
Published 4:07 PST, Tue February 26, 2019
Last Updated: 2:12 PDT, Wed May 12, 2021
City wants to hear what community wishes to
do with old aquatic centre
Would you rather repurpose the soon-to-be
mothballed Minoru Aquatic Centre to a different community use, or tear it down
to make way for more green space at Minoru Park?
That’s the question the City of Richmond is
asking locals after a plan to demolish the building—at the cost of about $3
million—was reconsidered by members of council.
Former flight attendant Helen Healey said the
high ceilings make the old aquatic centre well-suited for an aviation museum.
Healey contributed to Marilyn Clayton’s 2002 Richmond Museum exhibit, Up in the
Clouds, the History of Vancouver Airport, which commemorated the airport’s 70th
anniversary.
Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie and Coun. Linda
McPhail feel tearing down the aquatic centre and replacing it with green space,
is the best option, and makes up for the loss of outdoor space that comes from
the new building’s footprint.
But Coun. Harold Steves feels the old
building still has life left in it, and it’s more fiscally prudent to save it
than spending the millions of dollars to demolish it.
The city now plans to consult potential user
groups before coming to a decision.
There are currently at least two significant
health concerns involving the existing building.
According to a staff report, it’s “highly
probably” the building contains asbestos, considering it was constructed in a
period during which asbestos was “extensively used as a building construction
material.”
Plans to test for asbestos were not completed
since the building was slated for demolition, the report said.
There’s also mould in the building, and the
cost of asbestos and mould abatement and restoration ranges from $500,000 to $4
million.
Filling in the pool and levelling the area
would cost about $425,000, and the need for mechanical, circulation and
electrical replacements could cost up to $1 million.
The premium option is to convert the space
into an open warehouse or community-use space, at a cost of between $21.8
million to $27 million.
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