Sudbury’s Perry + Perry Architects will “turn this into a legacy project” for community
In a recent unanimous decision, Elliot Lake City Council put its stamp of approval on an architect agreement with Perry + Perry Architects to design and oversee a full retrofit of the Elliot Lake Rogers Arena and bring it up to current Ontario Building Code standards.
It also approved Perry + Perry Architects’ Class D budget forecast for the arena at $11.6 million for this work.
Under the design agreement approval, the city will pay Perry + Perry Architects 10 per cent of the final project budget amount for the project to an upset (maximum) limit of $1.16 million.
The retrofit is expected to extend the arena’s lifespan by another 75 years, Chris Perry told council.
Perry, of Perry + Perry, attended the meeting to answer questions from council about the project.
“Most of the unknowns are known now,” he said. “The aesthetics and functionality of the arena will be updated from the ’70s to the 2000s.”
He also gave council assurances that it would have clear and regular updates on progress at the arena, including costs. He explained that the first thing his team will do is to prepare the project plan, and that it would include milestone marks and 3D models of what the arena will look like.
The team will also consult and include input from stakeholders in its design of the arena retrofits, Perry added.
“We will turn this into a legacy project rather than the negative experience it’s been for you so far,” Perry said.
Perry said the project, thus far, has substantially changed the arena so it must conform to current life safety standards.
What began as a simple roof repair unearthed significant structural issues with the building and resulted in its closure in September 2023.
The city spent more than $11 million to address those issues.
The new budget approved by council covers life safety, building code, accessibility, and other upgrades.
“We’re modernizing the old barn,” commented Elliot Lake Mayor Andrew Wannan.
