City to tear down parc des Cèdres Pavilion
The parc des Cèdres Pavilion will eventually be demolished. This news was included in a presentation to city council by Gatineau’s Infrastructure Services Department, November 9. According to one city employee, the three-season pavilion with its leaky roof is too far gone to renovate and is outdated in many aspects, leaving no choice but to build a new one.
The city is looking for engineers and architects to design the city-owned pavilion. Construction is to start in 2018, to be completed in 2019. According to Gilles Desjardins, Aylmer’s director, most of the $5.4 million earmarked in the city’s 2015 budget for the park and marina project will be used to build a new pavilion.
Réjean Martineau, of Gatineau’s Infrastructure Service, says the city has put the funds aside while it sorts out the needs of the community for the next building, other than only food service. Various associations were consulted months ago, as reported in the Bulletin, and the city is now drawing up future uses of the building.
“We have challenges; one is the lease we have with the tenant (Resto Bar Marina) which expires only in 2018,” said an Infrastructure Service employee. The city also rents the land the pavilion sits on from the provincial government through an emphyteutic lease.
Although the pavilion project may seem stalled, the park with the marina has still benefited from significant investments over recent years. These include a resurfaced and relocated bike path, new play structures, plus additional trees and lights. The marina also saw improvements: a new visitor wharf, resurfaced parking, and a rebuilt boat launch.