Updates on our Ritchie Hall Project
July 24, 2024: We have secured the City’s maximum grant of $400,000 and the application for the GICB federal grant (for 60% of the costs or ~$3.5M) is under review for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. RCL was not invited to apply for the provincial Community Facility Enhancement Program grant, which matches up to $1M from Alberta Arts, Culture and Status of Women, nor to submit a business case for Alberta Capital Plan.
We do have general support from the Edmonton Federation Community Leagues however they will not endorse a submission to the City of Edmonton for additional funding for 2024-2025 but instead look towards a submission for the City’s 2026-2031 Capital Plan.
A fundraising campaign is expected to start in fall 2025. We receive lots of ideas but need help coordinating donors, sponsors, and tracking grants to support the hall committee.
Next date to see drawings and connect with those working on the project is at the July 31 BBQ!
You can also scroll below to see details.
NOTE: This amazing design and raised roof line is contingent on successful grant applications.
Table and seating plan of new hall. Capacity ~166.
The hall space can divide into two smaller spaces.
Stage and seating plan of new hall. Capacity ~266.
Site Plan Phase 1 - build hall. Phase 2 - demo old hall and rebuild rink / court area. Phase 3 - rebuild tennis court and parking area
Features: Fire pit seating at the east, two separate ice surfaces, more room for pickleball, rink hall connection for accessibility.
Where we're at?
We got our first grant!!!
There are five key phases associated with the City’s Parkland Change Process. It looks something like this:
Strategy phase: completed 2016-2018
Concept phase: completed 2019-2020
Design phase: completed
Schematic designs - complete 2021-2023
Construction drawings - completed Sept 2023
City Permit Applications. APPROVED! Click for detailed drawings.
Secure funding phase
Federal grant application that we submitted Feb 2023 is under review again for 2024-2025 due to additional funds for the GICB program.
City’s Community League Infrastructure Program Grant - $400k secured.
City of Edm funds are not adequate and max amount is from 2011 policy. We’re not permitted to request addition funding.
Community Enhancement Facility Program - submitted ‘Expression of Interest’, not invited to apply.
Fundraising - we need $500k or a couple million for the building and for site works.
Partnerships - we need to get creative.
Design updated to reflect secured funds and to start Hall Construction: 2025
Design and Construction tender and agreement package, if awarded GICB
Start date: TBD.
Site / Rink Phase: 2026 or later
Grant funding for rink and pickleball court area.
Resurfacing rink/court area.
Re-build tennis courts
Final floor layout. Features: Individual washroom stalls, outdoor washroom, winter warm-up area with concession, 3 usable/rentable spaces, fully accessible kitchen with wheelchair accessible cooktop, oven, sink, lighting and sound for theatre and concerts, direct access from space to outdoor parks, from either hall, covered patio space.
Side Elevations. Incorporating Ritchie’s trees and natural colours is a key principle in the exterior design. Click for detailed drawings.
Now that you’ve seen some details, we’d like to hear from you on what you think is exciting.
RCL is submitting grants for the 2024 intake. This includes federal, provincial and city grants. Once we understand our grant success, we will look to have fundraising events and sponsorship opportunities to make up for funding shortfall.
Project background
Built in 1961, Ritchie’s hall has seen its fair share of action. Be it special events, meetings, weddings or regular programs, our hall has served us well. However, the 60-year-old cinder block building is falling apart, very expensive to heat, and just not serving the needs of an evolving community.
The Ritchie Hall Revitalisation Project kicked off in 2014 with the goal to create a contemporary, warm, and inviting space that is tailored to community needs. We want our hall to not only be the perfect host for Ritchie’s signature events, but to be the reason private functions are so unforgettable.
The Ritchie Community League is excited about delivering a great, net-zero, accessible facility and a revised site layout that delivers connectivity with park space and accommodates programming needs that will better serve the Ritchie and adjacent neighbourhoods.
Why build a new hall and not renovate?
The cinder block building was originally constructed more than six decades ago and although major renovations were undertaken in the late seventies and again in the nineties, it's time for a significant overhaul.
In 2010, the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues (EFCL) contracted Stantec to review the halls structure. We can’t say we were shocked to learn that our hall has a number of deficiencies requiring attention.
More specifically, our kitchen, HVAC, fire safety system, bathroom and meeting spaces are outdated and energy inefficient. The building has an R2 insulation rating (so none), the floor has caved in the main hall, the ‘70s addition has sunk and is creating separation from main hall, the drainage is no longer repairable, the hall runs on three furnaces because there's no insulation. Renovations make sense when the foundation is sound - that's no longer the case for Ritchie’s hall and not good use of funds.
The hall is also struggling to meet the growing capacity requirements of many of our user groups. This led to a building design that cannot fit within the area of the current hall. The building design that best serves our programs and community needs is only feasible where the current rink is located. This would then move the rink to where the tennis courts are and move the old hall would be replaced with a tennis court area.
Isn't this a city issue?
Ritchie hall is owned by Ritchie Community League and the land it sits upon is City of Edmonton parkland.
For $1, the City of Edmonton grants us a license to occupy the land and use it in accordance with an agreement signed by our league, the city, and the EFCL. The land is called our “licensed area.” Ritchie owns the assets which includes the hall, the parking lot, and the rink and court area.
All changes and new developments within the “licensed” boundary must follow the City of Edmonton processes and obtain city approval. The city also determines what will be grandfathered for the site and what new requirements are to be expected.
Past engagement
In early 2015, we contracted a community engagement expert, who reached out to Ritchie community members of all ages as well as local and city-wide user groups. This work helped identify the following priorities, ranked in order of importance and used in developing the new hall:
indoor/outdoor connection between the building and the city park space and community rink;
sustainability in construction material, energy efficiencies and operational cost;
community kitchen enhanced for gathering and conversation;
large space - flexible and engaged community space;
support to the arts and fitness, but not necessarily organised sports;
an enhanced skate shack that enables winter recreation;
a lounge Area that is available for community gathering;
usable exterior spaces that enable coming together in natural surroundings;
better storage for programming opportunities; and,
front desk / reception that is welcoming and functional for community events.
With that list, we issued a request for proposals (RFP) to select an architect to design concepts.
In 2019, we presented those concepts, collected community feedback and after consulting with two architect firms, we are now on the third for building the actual construction drawings.
Can we afford it?
Prudent savings and fundraising by previous boards of directors has left us in a very good financial position compared with many other leagues. As a recent article highlights, it is simply impossible for community leagues to save enough money to adequately fund major renovations or re-builds, despite decades of adequate maintenance.
Although we have a good idea of what a new hall and revised site will cost, being able to build depends on receiving grants, stable service and material costs, City decisions on grandfathering site requirements, and fundraising amounts in the bank.
Currently, RCL cannot apply for loans so before we proceed with city development permit application, all funding must be secured. This means that the all the grant commitments plus the cash in RCL bank must equal total cost of construction.
Meet the Team
The RHRC’s dedicated volunteer members include:
Carly Steiger (ex-officio member as league President)
Jeff Ollis - (RHRC Chair)
Jeff Yu - (RHRC Vice-chair)
Vacant - (RHRC Treasurer)
David Woo - (Member-at-Large)
Stuart Fix - (Member-at-Large)
Genevieve Montomurro- (Member-at-Large)
For more information or to get involved please email us at: hall-revitalisation@ritchie-league.com