Most of us have had that experience, one time or another, when we’ve visited an area we haven’t been to in a while, only to discover that an entire building has seemingly sprung up overnight.
It seems impossible that so much could be accomplished so quickly.
Yet, there it is.
It’s an entirely different scenario when you drive past a construction site twice a day — as many of us who work two blocks away from City Hall have done — eagerly awaiting the convenience of an after-work walk around a brand new indoor track.
In that case, time almost seems to grind to a halt.
Watching the new Timms Community Centre grow from an ever deepening hole in the ground, while (later) getting the occasional glimpse of a welder, electrician or drywaller at work, has drawn out the process to an almost excruciating degree.
But, from what we’ve seen, the wait will have been worth it.
Today is the day users of Timms Community Centre in Langley City have watched approaching the same way a driver on the Canadian prairie watches the approach of the next city. You know you’ll arrive at it eventually, but …
The official grand opening of the new, state-of-the art facility, set for this afternoon, has been a long time coming, as City CAO Francis Cheung told me last week during a walk-through of the new building.
At that point, the City also had every intention of opening the facility to users on Monday, as we reported.
It wasn’t until after our Friday paper had gone to press that City staff realized that as much as they wanted it to be, the centre just couldn’t be completed on time for a Feb. 22 soft opening.
In the grand scheme of things, two days isn’t much.
Long before the design for the building was revealed in June 2014, and well before shovels hit the ground that October, plans had been in the works to replace the former fitness centre.
This was before my time, but I’m told the old building was originally constructed as a library in 1967 to celebrate Canada’s centennial.
By the time the bulldozers arrived, it had long since reached the end of its useful life.
Timms centre users have had to be patient over the past couple of years, working out at another aging building on Eastleigh Crescent while the new facility was under construction.
That patience is being rewarded with a beautiful new building in which to work out and play.
In addition to offering brand new top-of-the-line equipment, the building itself is well designed, offering staff good sight lines and providing plenty of natural light.
One of the nicest aspects of the centre, for me at least, is that it is designed to be a community hub where users of all ages can come and exercise or play a game or just sit and chat over a cup of coffee.
It’s a place residents can enjoy for generations to come, whether they’re training for a marathon or just want to be part of a marathon gab session.
