Council opts to relocate wellness centre from Kingston's planned aquatic complex

Kingston City Council has approved a significant change to the scope of the City's proposed $102-million aquatic complex, relocating the project's planned wellness and health centre from the new facility at the INVISTA Centre to community space at 315 Queen Mary Road.

Council approved the recommendation without discussion at its regular meeting on the evening of Tuesday, Jul. 7, 2026. The recommendation was previewed in a staff report released in advance of Tuesday's meeting, which indicated that relocating the wellness component would reduce design constraints at the INVISTA Centre, allow it to be integrated with other health services at the Queen Mary Road site, and be more cost-effective for taxpayers overall.

The decision amends the project scope Council approved in 2024. Rather than incorporating a dedicated wellness and health centre within the new aquatic complex at the INVISTA Centre, staff will instead pursue the development of that component at the former Extendicare building on Queen Mary Road, where a primary health-care clinic, supportive and transitional housing, and community programming are already being established.

In her report to Council, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Lanie Hurdle said that further design work had determined that combining the wellness centre with the aquatic facility would create operational challenges.

"City staff worked through a concept that included the wellness/health centre, but the multiple uses and the intensity of uses at the INVISTA Centre property created challenges with segregated service access and customer flow as well as on-site parking requirements," Hurdle wrote.

Instead, staff concluded the Queen Mary Road property offered a better long-term location by creating "synergies with other health care services within the property."

The original plans called for approximately 5,000 square feet of wellness space within the aquatic centre. Staff say the Queen Mary Road site could accommodate about 4,000 square feet and "could be converted/divided to suit wellness/health centre programming needs, including a small therapy pool."

However, the report also noted, "There is currently no budget identified for the redevelopment of the community space at Queen Mary Road as a full design has not yet been determined.”

Additionally, it stated that the cost of developing the wellness/health centre at Queen Mary Road would be lower than at the INVISTA Centre property.

The remainder of the aquatic centre project remains unchanged. Current plans call for a 25-metre, 10-lane competition pool, a leisure pool, spectator seating, change rooms, fitness facilities, a gymnasium, and expanded parking.

Staff also told Council the scope change will help minimize project costs while allowing the City to continue advancing the aquatic centre design toward a "shovel-ready" stage as it pursues provincial and federal infrastructure funding. The City plans to apply to both the federal Building Communities Stronger Fund and Ontario's Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund later this year.

Council also approved an exemption to the City's water and sewer bylaws to allow additional service connections for the aquatic centre. Staff said a second water and sanitary sewer connection from Gardiners Road represents the most practical servicing option and will reduce construction impacts on the existing INVISTA Centre property.

According to the report, public engagement on the aquatic centre is expected to begin this fall and will focus on programming, services, and other offerings within the approved project scope.

The full agenda for the latest meeting of Kingston City Council can be read on the City's website (under the heading 'Meeting Calendar,' click on the relevant date; or click 'View All' at the bottom of the list of dates to get to the City's calendar and view agendas for meetings that have already occurred). Meetings can be viewed virtually (during or after the meeting) in the video feature within the relevant Council agenda.