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City of Surrey officially opens Clayton Community Centre

Rec. centre has been open since February
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Surrounded by city councillors, Mayor Doug McCallum cuts a ribbon to officially open the Clayton Community Centre Oct. 16. (Photo: Jason Sveinson)

Mayor Doug McCallum officially opened the Clayton Community Centre Oct. 16.

Despite being open since February 2021, the officially opening ceremony was held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. last Saturday.

“The Clayton community has been eagerly waiting for more recreation, library and arts programming and this new community centre will deliver just that,” said Mayor Doug McCallum, according to a press release from the City of Surrey.

“As we continue to invest in infrastructure, this new facility is also championing both sustainable and inclusive design. Clayton Community Centre is fully accessible, uses 90% less energy, which helps us to reduce our environmental footprint and generate significant operational cost savings.”

The opening event featured ribbon cutting with mayor & council, entertainment, family games, art demonstrations, story time, blackout out poetry, button making, silkscreen printmaking, nature journals, lawn games, children’s stay and play, bulb planting, Vancouver Cantonese Opera demonstration, and self-guided building tours.

“Designed with input from the local community, this beautiful facility is a dynamic space where residents can get active, make art, learn new things and connect with others in their community,” said Councillor Laurie Guerra. “Today was a great day for the Clayton families and for the environment.”

SEE ALSO: Clayton Community Centre opening delayed again

The Clayton rec. centre is a 75,000 square foot facility that includes a fitness centre, gymnasium, performing arts studio, sound-proof music studios, woodworking studio, community teaching kitchen, preschool space, outdoor walking loop, children’s playground, and a full-service 14,000 square foot library.

PASSIVE HOUSE

The Clayton facility was built as a Passive House. Originating in Germany, Passive House is a unique way to construct a building that uses “super insulation” combined with a complex ventilation system to drastically reduce a building’s energy consumption.

Fresh air is continuously sucked into a building and stale air is continuously forced out. While the stale air is being forced out, it is used to heat the incoming air, which minimizes heat loss.

According to Passive House Canada, the low-energy buildings “consume up to 90 per cent less heating and cooling energy than conventional buildings.” This design includes being able to build houses without furnaces in cold climates.

The building was projected to cost $43.5 million — with Natural Resources Canada kicking in $1.3 million, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Green Municipal Fund gifting $175,000, and BC Hydro donating $30,000.

The first Passive House in Canada was constructed in Whistler for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Lost Lake PassivHaus was built to showcase the unique construction methods to the building community.

The Clayton Community Centre is located at 7155 187A Street.



editor@cloverdalereporter.com

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Malin Jordan

About the Author: Malin Jordan

Malin is the editor of the Cloverdale Reporter.
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