Opening in July, Recreation Centre North set to modernize recreation at UBC

You can stop holding your breath: the new Recreation Centre North is officially opening its doors on July 2 to fitness fanatics, intramural champions and everyone in between.

Situated north of the UBC Life Building, the more than 9,300 square-metre, LEED gold-certified “Rec North” features fitness spaces spread over 4 floors, including 3 gymnasiums and a 200-metre track amidst its studios and weight rooms. The facility also features office space for UBC Athletics & Recreation.

“It's a complete transformation,” said the Managing Director of Athletics & Recreation, Kavie Toor, in an interview with The Ubyssey, speaking to how the project seeks to improve the capacities of fitness at the University.

“We did feel [that] we were underserving our community,” said Toor. As the first of four projects outlined in GamePlan — UBC Athletics & Recreation’s 20-year strategic plan — the initiative cited the university’s limited 0.03 square-metres of fitness space per student as the reason behind the construction of a new recreation space. Other projects included in GamePlan are renovations to War Memorial Gym, as well as a new Thunderbird Stadium and an enhanced baseball field.

Following an AMS referendum to levy student fees for a new recreation centre, the initiative was approved by the Board of Governors in April 2017; $22.5 million was raised from student fees, while the rest came from private contributions and the university.

Vancouver’s SHAPE Architecture provided initial design plans in 2019, incorporating student feedback to maximize natural lighting and reduce noise levels through high ceilings, tall windows and offset floors.

Working alongside the Rick Hansen Foundation, who certified the building as accessible, Toor said that they “would share some design concepts with them” to “get some feedback [and] expertise” on ensuring the building is inclusive.

“Between the [UBC Life Building] and this building, there are lots of fair access points … [that] came from feedback from that crew,” said Toor.

UBC Properties Trust announced on June 4 that the building had received its occupancy permit and was officially handed over to both UBC Athletics & Recreation and the AMS, who will ultimately share responsibilities for the facility.

“[The AMS’] contributions are all over this building,” said Toor. “When we were coming towards funding challenges, the track was at risk, and the AMS in particular really leaned [into it] in a significant way, [saying], ‘we really want the track preserved as part of the project.’”

“[The AMS supported] not only in terms of the design and concept and original funding, but also [with] the advocacy to make sure the core vision remained intact.”

Toor said that the AMS and Athletics & Recreation are currently meeting to organize a booking system for clubs to access the facilities’ studios and gymnasiums.

The project has faced numerous delays. As of June 27, UBC Recreation’s website still lists its anticipated completion date as “late 2024” — something that Toor accredited to “trade delays.”

“There's some things that we learned that were out of our control … thankfully, we were able to … make sure that the project was delivered in the way we had originally envisioned, albeit a little later than we had also envisioned.”

Early access for fitness membership holders began on June 23 and will conclude on June 29 ahead of its official opening on July 2.