Creekside Community Rec Centre officially opens Saturday, September 18

September 15, 2010 (No. 44) - Vancouver’s newest community centre – Creekside Community Recreation Centre – officially opens Saturday, September 18 with sports and program demonstrations, family activities and refreshments. The event runs 11am to 3pm at 1 Athletes Way at Southeast False Creek.

"Creekside represents the heart of the newly developing community around the former Athletes Village, and will serve the entire east False Creek basin neighborhood including City Gate, north Mount Pleasant and International Village," noted Park Board Chair Aaron Jasper. "As well as the traditional and new recreational programs, Creekside will also be a destination for high performance sports training and non-motorized boating activities."

The opening celebration will include entertainment, free fitness centre drop-ins, program demonstrations, SportFit challenge, interactive displays, family activities, cake and refreshments. The centre’s first program guide will be available to pick up and staff will be on hand to register new members in fall programs and fitness centre access. The event is sponsored by Walter Francl Architecture Inc. and Nick Milkovich Architects Inc.

Located on the waterfront seawall in Southeast False Creek, the 4,227 square metre (45,500 square foot) building housed administrative and retail businesses that served athletes during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. After the Games, the building was converted by the Park Board to a community recreation centre. The state-of-the-art legacy building, which opened to the public in mid-July 2010, features a fitness centre, gymnasium, dance studio, sports performance lab and multi-purpose rooms. Future amenities will include a childcare centre, restaurant and non-motorized boating facilities.

Creekside is easily accessible by foot and bicycle on the False Creek seawall. A large parkade for vehicles is located underneath the building. Skytrain stations at Main Street/Science World and Olympic Village are within a 10 minute walk.

The $36 million building was built by the City of Vancouver and the Park Board and designed by Walter Francl Architecture Inc. and Nick Milkovich Architects Inc. + Arthur Erickson as part of the Athletes Village for the 2010 Winter Games. It has been recognized for its unique green features and design with LEED® platinum certification, the highest standard for environmentally sustainable buildings and the first community centre in Canada to achieve platinum status.

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Media enquiries: Barb Floden, Communications Coordinator, at (t) 604-257-8438 or (c) 604-992-5646

The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation maintains 220 parks and 40 major facilities throughout the City of Vancouver. The Park Board's mission is to provide, preserve and advocate for parks and recreation services to benefit people, communities and the environment.