Mayor Ian Sutherland is hoping nothing gets in the way of his latest predicted opening date for the 樱桃视频Adventure Centre.
Previous target dates have come and gone. Sutherland said he hopes that won't happen again with the latest target for the Visitor Information Centre to start operating out of the Adventure Centre starting next Saturday (Sept. 17).
The furniture was to be delivered to the building late this week. The Chamber of Commerce is expected to move into the building this weekend and through the early part of next week.
Sutherland said the initial opening will be a soft opening.
"Once we get it through the first couple of days and the Chamber gets their bearings and the visitor information staff are up and running with the new building then we will make it more known that the building is open," said Sutherland.
As the doors of the building are being readied for opening, Sutherland is reiterating that 樱桃视频taxpayers will contribute no more than $900,000 toward the capital cost of the project.
The original concept budget for the building was $2.4 million but Sutherland said a great deal happened after that figure was set.
He said the project budget is now more than $3 million with just under $2 million coming from the provincial and federal governments.
"We have built a building that is the showpiece for the community," Sutherland said. "At certain points along the way we have added features to that building that has increased the price. The fact is that we are going through a phase where material has gone up in price over the last year."
Significant improvements have been made to the building along the way as it was under construction, Sutherland said. He also noted a number of cost increases associated with the project were completely beyond the control the District of 樱桃视频(DOS).
The DOS is still negotiating the sponsorship deal for the building. Sutherland said sponsorship deals like the one for the Adventure Centre generally aren't finalized until the building is complete.
"We are talking with two or three parties that are interested," said Sutherland.
"We've had solid conversations with two or three national, multi-national companies that want to be part of this and it is just a matter of picking the best deal for the people of Squamish."
Another key unresolved component of the centre is direct access from Highway 99. Sutherland said the Ministry of Transportation and the DOS both have work to finalize planning for a right turn from the northbound highway lane directly into the parking lot.
He also indicated this week that major progress was made on issues related to the hold-up of the construction of the Wal-Mart and Home Depot stores.
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