New Kew Recreation Centre

The Kew Recreation Centre will undergo a major redevelopment commencing in mid-2020 that will see it transform into a state-of-the-art facility that is suitable for all stages of life and caters to a wide range of health and wellbeing needs.

Status

The current facility will close to the public from Wednesday 1 July, with demolition and construction on track to start in the following months.

We are working closely with the YMCA to develop alternative options to ensure Kew Recreation Centre members’ health and wellbeing needs are met during the closure.

For more information, visit the YMCA’s Kew Recreation Centre page.

We are currently working with the architect to update the design based on feedback received from the community during consultation.

We will continue to work closely with the community on the final design elements for the centre, including the entrance and exit on Disraeli Street.

About the project

Redeveloping the Kew Recreation Centre provides an opportunity to design a purpose-built facility with modern fitness and aquatic facilities for people of all ages and abilities. 

The existing facility is in poor condition and no longer meets community expectations nor caters for future demographic growth. The new centre will create a facility for the community to improve or maintain health and wellbeing, play team sports, connect with others and meet specialised health needs.

The project is outlined as a major infrastructure project in the Council Budget 2019-20 and is estimated to cost $67.5 million.

Features of the new centre

The new Kew Recreation Centre will include:

• increased parking on site, making the centre more accessible
• a dedicated learn to swim pool for swimming lessons 
• a secluded warm water pool for gentle exercise and rehabilitation
• an aqua play area for young people to play and explore
• a crèche to support families’ health and wellbeing needs
• bigger change rooms that cater for individuals, groups and families
• two indoor sports courts providing much-needed space for a range of local participants
• allied health suites to support your health and wellness goals
• divided health and fitness areas for both ‘noisy’ and ‘quiet’ group exercise classes
• landscaped forecourt and café to meet, gather and socialise
• a party room.

Accessibility features

The new centre will be more accessible to people of all abilities and will include: 

• a dedicated office and activity space for Boroondara Stroke Support Group
• larger change rooms that can cater for families and school groups
• more car parking, including disabled parking and wider spaces for prams 
• ​​​​stair and lift access from the undercover car park
• fully accessible spa via ramp access
• a sensory room to suit families with a range of needs and abilities.

Community consultation

We will work closely with the community to develop a modern facility that will meet the needs of our growing community, with the latest fitness and aquatic facilities for people of all ages.

First consultation period

During the initial consultation period in September 2018, we engaged with over 1,500 people from the community. We asked them to provide feedback about what was important to them and what they would like to see in the new centre to help shape the proposed design concept. 

The consultation was conducted through meetings with community groups, workshops, pop up sessions and via a survey.

Second consultation period

During the second stage of consultation in September and October 2019, we asked the community to provide feedback on the proposed design through a series of drop-in sessions, workshops with local community groups and via an online survey.

A number of themes emerged. This feedback helped shape the creation of the floor plan for the new centre (PDF, 1.2 MB).

Childcare

• A creche has been added to support families’ health and wellbeing needs. 

Larger studio one  

• The size of the studio has been increased to 200 square metres which will allow for a large variety of classes and class sizes.

Disraeli Street entrance and exit

• A car park entrance and exit onto Disraeli Street is required due to an increased number of users.
• We have listened to the concerns raised during consultation and are considering a number of options to reduce the impact on nearby residents.

If you would like to be kept up to date about this specific area of the redevelopment and other items that may impact you throughout the project, please sign up to the mailing list.  

Aqua play area

• People supported a design for an aqua play area that caters to a wide age range of children and young people.
• We’re still working at the details for this area, but are confident that we can create a fun and engaging space to meet the diverse needs of the community.

50 metre pool

• There was some support for a 50m pool to be included in the design; however, we need to provide an option that caters to people of all needs and abilities. 
• The updated design includes separate pools for rehabilitation, swimming lessons and lap swimming, which the community asked for in the first round of consultation. We would not have been able to achieve this if a 50m was included in the design. 
• There are 50m pools conveniently located down the road at Hawthorn Leisure Centre and Boroondara Sports Complex.

Green space 

• We have allowed for more green space and additional trees will be added to the front entrance and perimeter of the building.
• We are also still working on the interface between the new facility and immediate residents. This will include additional planting and consideration of the building finishes. We will liaise directly with impacted residents on this over the next few months.

Timeline

Alternative locations once the centre closes 

Once the centre closes for redevelopment, current Kew Recreation Centre members will have reciprocal rights at the other Council centres (Hawthorn Aquatic and Leisure Centre, Ashburton Pool and Recreation Centre and Boroondara Sports Centre) and are welcome to use them.

For alternative programming, class options and membership queries, visit YMCA’s Kew Recreation Centre redevelopment page. 

More information

For more information, please contact Hannah Martin on 9278 4646 or at [email protected].

If you'd like to be kept informed about the progress of this project, sign up to our mailing list.