Community members, students, elders and government representatives gathered at the North Central Community Centre in Regina Friday to hear the name of a unique building that has been years in the making.
Mămawěyatităn, meaning "let's come together" in Cree, is the name chosen for the future North Central Shared Facility.
Dagan Alexson, a student athlete at Scott Collegiate, is looking forward to the new building that will replace the school. He is excited for the new fitness facilities that will be included. However, he feels what the school is missing right now is a good library.
"The library is very small — barely any books in there. That's why I'm excited for the new library," Alexson said.
The building, like the name says, brings together many services under one roof. The 100,000 square-foot centre will hold a school, public library, recreation complex and community policing centre. The purpose of having many amenities together is to give people access to more services as well as having a cohesive public space.
Mămawěyatităn Centre is projected to cost $42.2 million. The Government of Saskatchewan is contributing $31.1 million toward the project while the City of Regina is committing $8.8 million to the North Central Community Learning Centre. The library is giving $2.5 million to the new public library branch.
"City Council and North Central residents are extremely proud of the spirit and sense of community in this neighbourhood," Mayor Michael Fougere said.
"A state-of-the-art hub that offers so many ways to come together and promote healthy involvement in the community is a new approach that we believe will pay significant dividends and show the rest of the city the good work that's happening here."
Diagrams were on display for the community to get a sneak-peek at the plans for what the shared facility will look like.
The school’s ninth graders are hoping that construction will meet the spring 2017 deadline so they can use it before they graduate.
Alexis Mantee, who is in ninth grade at Scott Collegiate, was a student at Wascana School but went to high school the year before Seven Stones Community School opened. She said she would like to experience the new building before she graduates because the plans look really good.
