Trend Arlington Pavillion
this legacy project which will not only memorialize our recent past, but sustain us well into our future
EXCITING NEWS: The Trend Arlington Community Association is pleased to announce that approximately $187,000 in federal and provincial funding was officially announced today for the construction of a 60' x 40' wood pavilion, to be built in Trend Arlington Park, close to the Trend Arlington Community Centre.
You can read the official news release that was posted today on the Government of Canada website. You can also watch the funding announcement with TACA President Sean Devine along with our elected representatives MP Chandra Arya, MPP Minister Lisa MacLeod and Ward 9 City Councillor Keith Egli.
Please note: all images in this message are merely artist and builder suggestions and early planning documents, and are not representative of final designs or plans.
The 60' x 40' open-air pavilion will be accessible to the community year-round, hosting community BBQs and dinners, outdoor yoga classes, movie nights, public meetings, art workshops, community dances and concerts. In the winter months, the pavilion will be the site of our annual winter carnival, and will serve as a shelter for skaters using the adjacent outdoor rink. Knoxdale Public School is right next to the site, and we hope for the pavilion to be used for open-air classes. This facility will be a valuable public asset that will serve our growing community for generations.
TACA salvaged a lot of our community's fallen trees after the 2018 tornado, with the hopes of incorporating this lumber into memorial projects. We did a significant amount of community fundraising, so that Trend Arlington's residents could contribute to these worthwhile endeavours. And so it's with great pride that we thank our community for the contributions they have made through our original GoFundMe campaign as well as our live edge fundraiser, partial proceeds of which will go to this project. And it is with great excitement that we remind everyone that lumber from our very own fallen trees will be built into this beautiful wood pavilion.
In 2019 TACA submitted a grant for joint federal/provincial infrastructure funding. Earlier this year it was finally confirmed that the federal government would be contributing approximately $102,000 towards the project, with the provincial government contributing approximately $85,000. TACA will also be allocating towards this project much of what remains from our United Way "After The Storm" Legacy Fund grant.
We have recently submitted a Major Capital Partnership Program grant to the City of Ottawa, who have been very supportive partners on this project. It is our hope that the City will be a 50/50 partner with TACA on what will eventually be a $400,000 - $500,000 project that will include all elements of the site development, design and construction of the pavilion, and related costs for new infrastructure.
"we’re so grateful to have something like this to help us to not only continue building community spirit, but which will also memorialize the tornado that brought our community closer together."
- Sean Devine
This pavilion project is to be the central component of a larger project to develop the entire footprint of Trend Arlington Park. We've already been successful in raising funds courtesy of Hydro One for two community beautification projects, resulting in the 25 new trees recently planted on Bellman Drive, as well as the community garden project starting this summer. We're also in talks with the City of Ottawa's Public Art department about a piece of public art that will be situated somewhere in Trend Arlington (community consultation to begin soon).
The pavilion will be located in Trend Arlington Park, close to where we situated the large tent we rented for our 2019 Community Day event (i.e. no more expensive tent rentals). The suggested location for the pavilion as proposed by TACA in consultation with the City of Ottawa's Department of Parks & Facilities would require the re-location of soccer fields, as well as the re-location of our outdoor rink. But additional outdoor lighting has been planned, as well as the re-location of the rink bunker and water access to serve the rink as well as the community garden. A new accessible path is also being considered for the site.
We fully understand that the re-location of existing facilities may prove frustrating to some, but TACA is confident that the long-term and diverse benefits to be gained from this pavilion and its related new infrastructure will far surpass any related inconveniences. There will be opportunities for community consultation and engagement during several phases of these various project plans.