RILEY GOES DOWN
Vision Vancouver park board commissioners voted down Monday a proposed six-month moratorium on the demolition of Riley Park Community Centre.
NPA commissioner Melissa De Genova made a motion to hold off on demolishing the building so she could study the viability of saving the old centre. Many residents of the community are concerned the replacement centre, Hillcrest, is at capacity. With construction of a new housing development looming on the neighbouring Little Mountain lands, many residents believe the old centre should be left for community use. But it looks like the wrecking ball will soon move into place.
WOOD-FRAME WONDER
Besides being home to Captain Walrus, Loopy the Dragon and the Zoom Extreme, the Hillcrest Aquatic Centre has another claim to fame.
The aquatic centre at Hillcrest Park was recently recognized with a citation for innovative wood design for "creative and appropriate use of wood materials and the overall aesthetic appeal of this civic recreation facility."
Vancouver architectural firm Hughes Condon Marler Architects was recognized for its use of wood in the design at the 2011 North American Wood Design Awards, sponsored by Wood Design & Building Magazine published by the Canadian Wood Council.
Hughes Condon Marler Architects also received a Wood Works! Design award earlier last year for its use of wood as the primary structural and envelope element of the aquatic centre. The Wood Works! Awards program is an initiative of the Canadian Wood Council.
PATIO PLAN
Anyone interested in the design of the proposed outdoor patio at the Boathouse Restaurant at Kits Beach will want to save this date.
The park board is hosting an open house on the ground floor of the restaurant, 1305 Arbutus St., Feb. 16 from 5 to 7 p.m.
The original plan for the outdoor patio has been revised based on public input and the event will be an opportunity to check out this latest design.
BLOG REBORN
My Central Park blog is back up after a months-long hiatus due to technical difficulties. But now it's online and can be found on the Courier's home page.
I'll post some of the same items on my blog as you'll see in print, but with this relaunch I'll be detailing a new endeavor I've undertaken.
Darnelle Moore, my former fitness instructor from the Healthiest Winner Program at the now defunct Riley Park Community Centre, opened an exercise studio on Fraser Street called Eastside Fitness. Moore and her business partner Wendy Sinclair opened the small studio to serve locals from the Mountain View and South Hill neighbourhoods.
Moore has also brought in the services of a registered holistic nutritionist named Susan Kamachi of Zest Family Nutrition. Moore and Kamachi are determined this is my time to get fit(er) so I signed up two weeks ago and am attending my first 7 a.m. boot camp class this Friday at the studio. I also meet Kamachi once a week for advice on nutrition, which means Big Macs are out and my cupboards are beginning to look like an aisle at Whole Foods.
I'll keep readers posted on my highs and lows of this fitness journey in my Central Park blog at vancourier.com.
sthomas@vancourier.com
Twitter: @sthomas10
