Hopes for the long anticipated Boyle Municipal Centre landed on solid ground last Thursday when the Village held its sod-turning ceremony for the new building.
Representatives from the Village and Athabasca County attended the ceremony, as well as members from the Boyle and District Seniors Association, Boyle Library and the Historical Book Society.
Contractor Johnston Builders and Berry Architecture were also on hand for the sod turning.
Boyle Mayor Bob Clark said the next few months will see a flurry of activity around the community. Across the street from the construction site, contractors have been busy laying the groundwork for the Wildrose Villa extension.
“It’s going to be a great addition to the community and a nice, new building up in the area, next to the new seniors home and extended care,” he said. “Those two together will be two impressive buildings you can see next to the highway. It’ll show we’re trying to move forward.”
The new municipal centre will house the Village’s administrative offices, seniors drop in, library and archives.
Completion and grand opening of the municipal centre is expected in May 2016, an end date long anticipated by the community.
The Boyle library has been sequestered in the basement of the Boyle Community Centre for 38 years and village administration moved down the hall in 2013. The Boyle Seniors Drop-In Centre was also long overdue for a makeover, since it was built in 1972.
Village council looked into a new centre several years ago when the town of Athabasca was planning construction of the Athabasca Regional Multiplex.
“We started looking into it 8-10 years ago,” Clark said. “We went out to look at a piece of land, some preliminary drawings were done. But after that, it didn’t move forward.”
So after much discussion and negotiations in recent years, bobcats were on the ground Friday digging the base of the building. Drilling began for the installation of 100 piles to hold the foundation together. The piles will reach depths of about 30-40 feet.
In about three weeks, once all the piles are drilled and rebar is positioned, construction crews will pour the concrete foundation and begin framing.
“By the end of August, you’ll be able to start seeing the shape of the building,” Clark said.
The last time Boyle saw a construction project of this size, Clark said, was 5-6 years ago when the Boyle Co-op grocery store was built. A smaller-scale project took place last year, when Millar Western Forest Products set up an office building for their sawmill.
