Placentia Regional Wellness Centre

Vigilant is happy to highlight our work on the new regional wellness center in Placentia, NL

The Town of Placentia located on the southwest coast of the Avalon Peninsula is positioned in an area of crested hills and a jagged but marvelous coastline. Having been first settled in the early 15th century by the French it is an area rich in history. Vigilant’s connection to this historic area came from the need to replace the aging recreation complex that had been standing since 1997. It had served the community for many years but as with everything time had finally begun catching up to it. 

Vigilant is providing project management and advisory services to the Town of Placentia in building the new regional wellness center. This project will provide a state-of-the-art facility to meet the current and future recreational needs of the residents of Placentia. The Wellness Centre will target LEED Silver principles in accordance with the Provincial Build Better Buildings Policy. The Town and their former consultant completed this project’s planning and procurement stages. 

The Town engaged Vigilant to lead the detailed design, construction, and closeout of the project. Our team is working with the design-builder to achieve desired goals through a collaborative approach. As the Owner’s Advisor (OA), Vigilant has taken a leading role in ensuring the project’s success. Vigilant is actively advocating for the Town’s goals, priorities, and interests during all remaining stages of the project (design management, project controls, construction execution, commissioning, and closeout). We are working to identify any secondary objectives with the Town, and are striving to deliver this project on time and within budget. The Owner’s goal is to complete the project in a cost effective, efficient, and timely manner. Construction began in the summer of 2022 and will be completed 20 months later.

CHALLENGES 

This build has not come without challenges. The facility had to be designed to mitigate the risk of flooding as it lies within a potential flood area. Doing this required careful design and enhanced quality control to ensure any potential flooding caused no negative impact on the facility. The new facility was also to be connected to the existing facility which required an intricate assessment of the existing facility and coordination of existing building systems. Along with this, there were unexpected delays in acquiring major equipment for the project. This was remedied through supplier and contractor negotiation and expediting several major pieces of equipment to ensure that the project would be completed on schedule. 

SUCCESSES 

The project is currently a major success, with it being anticipated to be on schedule and under the initial contract value. Construction quality has been high and in compliance with the design intent and contract documents. Vigilant is working to maintain this trend throughout the project all the way to completion. 

CLOSING 

The previous wellness center provided a boost for this community that could not be measured in numbers. It provided a hub that promotes social interactions and an active lifestyle. This is critical for any community and the boost provided by the old facility certainly diminished as the facility aged. This new wellness center will rejuvenate this community hub which will provide benefits to all those who enter its doors. 

We at Vigilant are extremely thankful for the opportunity to work on this amazing facility and look forward to its completion.