Northern Community CentreNorthern Community Centre

Project Description

The Northern Community Centre in Sault Ste. Marie is a multi-phase recreation facility designed to serve the City’s growing community, recreation, and tourism needs.

TULLOCH supported both Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the development. Phase 1 included an indoor soccer facility, library, and change rooms, designed with a long-span steel frame and deep-piled foundations to accommodate future expansion. Phase 2 built on that foundation with a $28.2M twin-pad arena featuring two NHL-sized ice surfaces, a rubberized indoor walking track, 14 change rooms, spectator seating for more than 1,000 patrons, event space for public user groups, a cultural centre, concessions, a pro shop, and other community amenities.

The new twin-pad arena replaced the former single-surface W.J. McMeeken Arena and was integrated with the previously completed Phase 1 turf field facilities. Construction was completed in 2023, with the grand opening of the renamed Northern Community Centre held on March 6, 2023.

In 2024, TULLOCH received an Award of Distinction from ACEC-Ontario in the Building Engineering and Science category for its contributions to the project.

Scope of Services

• Structural design of the foundation and steel/concrete superstructure
• Structural engineering to integrate the Phase 2 arena with the existing Phase 1 structure and roof
• Civil site design and servicing, including water, sanitary, and stormwater systems
• Civil surface improvements, including grading, drainage, parking lot layout, access roads, and signage
• Geotechnical investigations and soil studies to address poor site ground conditions
• High-precision surveys for arena floor placement
• Environmental assessments
• Construction monitoring and inspections, including rebar, steel placement, and pile installation
• Materials testing, including concrete, soils, asphalt, and aggregates