Rumours speculating that construction of Scarborough's Pan AmGames aquatics facility is in jeopardy have been flatly denied by both the local city councillor and by a top Pan Am 2015 official.
Some reports indicated the cost of soil remediation on the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus would be prohibitive to construction because it had previously been used as a landfill. However, Scarborough East Councillor Ron Moeser and Pan Am 2015 CEO Ian Troop said the facility is going ahead as planned."There has been no discussion on relocation and work is going forward. Between the city, the U of T and the sports institute which will be a key tenant, they are making good progress and are moving forward on that," Troop said after a Pan Am board meeting on Thursday, July 29.It was no secret that there would be costs associated with removing old landfill before construction could begin on the north-east corner of Military Trail and Morningside Avenue. That information was disclosed during the bidding process, though final costs are still unclear.Reports cited costs of soil remediation as high as $150 million, but Moeser thought that number was greatly over inflated."There is a commitment by the city, commitment by U of T and I believe there is a commitment by Pan Am 2015. Due diligence is being done and at this point we are making sure we have all the facts before we put any figures out there. To me, $150 million is way, way out of what anybody contemplates," said Moeser. "I stress that what is really important here is when figures like this come out that they be backed by facts and proper due diligence on the site. Proper investigation is part of that."If, however unlikely, costs do rise to the point where the site is no longer viable, Moeser said contingencies are being investigated so the 300,000-square-foot facility could be built somewhere nearby to ensure the community would still benefit from local infrastructure and recreational benefits that come along with it.Final official decisions on all Pan Am locations will be made in late September, but Moeser is confidant everything will go as planned because, "there is a lot of work being done in the background to make sure this happens."