Polydium to be demolished

The Polydium Sports Centre has closed its doors for good, the City of Châteauguay announced on Wednesday, December 7th. The municipality says it made the decision after receiving a damning report on the building’s structure, which requires its emergency demolition.

Translation Amanda Bennett

According to the report, the steel structure and concrete base of the building are in such poor condition that it is in danger of collapsing under the weight of snow or in the event of high winds,” explained Karl Sacha Langlois, the city’s Director General. A security perimeter will be set up around the building shortly.

Mayor Eric Allard says the decision was difficult.

“It’s emotional,” he said in a press conference before Gestaforme’s board of directors, the organization that managed the Polydium. 

“This building has been part of people’s lives for a long time, a part of mine as well. And it’s with sadness that we’re going to proceed with its demolition, but honestly, I would have a lot of difficulty holding the position I hold if we had people inside if the roof collapsed and then people died.”

The City of Chateauguay closed the Polydium on November 17th, in order to assess the building’s condition. It had received analysis data indicating very high humidity levels in the air, which are dangerous for health and safety. The municipality has not yet received the results of these studies.

Langlois says this is the first time he has received a terminal diagnosis regarding Polydium. He assured that in past reports engineers spoke of the building’s end-of-life, without condemning it.

“However, when you look at the work that had to be done versus the cost-benefit ratio, it became difficult to renovate something that was like a house of cards,” he said.

A special municipal council meeting will be held on December 15th to ratify the recommendation to demolish the building. The City will then hold a call for tenders.

Dissolution of Gestaforme

Michel Boutin, President of the Gestaforme board of directors, explained that the organization’s raison d’être was to manage the Polydium’s activities. 

“I think that we have come to our end,” he concluded, with tears in his eyes.

For its part, the city is committed to supporting the organization’s administrators financially and in terms of resources. The municipality will pay the salaries of Gestaforme employees for the first two weeks following the closure in November. This represents an amount of approximately $30,000.

Relocation of Activities

The city is in the process of contacting the pools around Chateauguay to try to set up agreements to maintain services, said the mayor. The municipal team and Gestaforme are also analyzing the possibility of relocating other sports activities.

Reimbursement

Gestaforme will be issuing refunds for all activities starting Wednesday, December 7, according to the following schedule: Wednesday, December 7, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Thursday, December 8, from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday, December 9, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Refunds will be made in person only at the Centre Culturel Georges. P.-Vanier Cultural Centre, located at 15 Maple Blvd. Additional time slots may be added in the near future.

Indoor swimming pool project on hold

The Régie Sports et Loisirs Beau-Château, which is made up of the cities of Châteauguay and Beauharnois, is currently revising its plans for the construction of the aquatic complex that would have replaced the Polydium. In 2021, the Régie obtained a $14 million grant to build the project, which was originally valued at $22 million. Due to rising costs, particularly in the construction industry, the project was revised to $30 million. Earlier this year, the Régie rejected the three bids it had received for the construction of the pool, which ranged between $47 million and $49 million.