Officials say new Glace Bay youth facility will be transformational for generations - Action News
Home WebMail Sunday, November 10, 2024, 08:53 PM | Calgary | 1.4°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
Nova Scotia

Officials say new Glace Bay youth facility will be transformational for generations

New life is coming to the site of aformer machine shop for the coal mining business in the heart of Glace Bay, N.S.

$15M youth and family centre will be built on a site connected to coal mining past

Three men in suits and a woman in a winter parka stand in a grassy field holding a shovel and an artist's rendering of what a new building could look like.
MLA John White, MP Mike Kelloway, Undercurrent Youth Centre's Trevor DenHartogh, and New Dawn CEO Erika Shea pose at the future site of the Glace Bay Youth and Family Centre. (Tom Ayers/CBC)

New life is coming to the site of aformer machine shop for the coal mining business in the heart of Glace Bay, N.S.

A ceremonial sod turning was held Friday inan empty field next to a parking lot and a well-used skatepark to kick off construction of a$15-million youth and family centre.

The project istargeted at a community with an industrial past that officials say has one of the highest youth poverty rates in the province.

"The well-being of our children and our youth today is one of the best predictors of the well-being of our communities tomorrow," said Erika Shea, CEO of New Dawn Enterprises, a social agency that will run the new centre.

"And this project reflects the aspirations of the people of Glace Bay to have a future that is vibrant and healthy and growing and diverse and compassionate.

"This project represents ... a turn towards that different kind of future."

Federal and provincial funding was announced for the new centre two years ago, but the site selection stalled when a parcel of land under consideration was sold in a municipal tax sale.

A man with a beard and moustache wearing a mauve suit speaks at a wooden podium outside on the edge of a grassy field next to a concrete parking lot.
Trevor DenHartogh, interim executive director of the Undercurrent Youth Centre, says Glace Bay needs a larger, safe space for youth, which the new facility will provide. (Tom Ayers/CBC)

Officials now say construction will start this spring on a26,000-square-foot building that will include a new skate park, gymnasium, rooms for activities and training-in-life skills, a commercial kitchen and a caf.

It's expected to be surrounded by new green space and is scheduled to open in 2026 at the corner of Union and Reserve streets.

The new centre's anchor tenant will be the Undercurrent Youth Centre, whose existing facility is at capacity.

TrevorDenHartogh, Undercurrent's interim executive director, said the community needs a larger, safe space for kids where the programming is offered at no charge.

"I think it's going to have a huge impact on the youth of our community being able to involve themselves in community sports and activities,"DenHartogh said.

Kyle McPhee, treasurer for the Island Skateboarding Association, grew up at the nearby skate park and said the new building will have a profound effect on area youth for "generations to come."

A man in a dark winter parka with a green toque smiles next to an artist's rendering of what a new building could look like.
Kyle McPhee, treasurer for the Island Skateboarding Association, says just having a new building can change the lives of youth in Glace Bay. (Tom Ayers/CBC)

"I'm just stoked to see it come to life. I think it's a long time coming and a lot of people have put a lot of hard work into this, and I'm really excited to see where it goes," he said.

McPhee said just having a new building that's safe and accessible can change lives.

"It sounds pretty minimal when you say it like that, but the impact from that alone is huge," he said.

"It'll just grow the community in a positive way and give kids something to do and somewhere to be when they're not in school and keep kids out of trouble and doing productive things."

Add some good to your morning and evening.

Get the latest top stories from across Nova Scotia in your inbox every weekday.

...

The next issue of CBC Nova Scotia newsletter will soon be in your inbox.

Discover all CBC newsletters in theSubscription Centre.opens new window

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Google Terms of Service apply.