One of the oldest un-renovated community pools in the province is about to get an upgrade.

The Penticton Community Centre (PCC) will get $23,024,951 million to expand and improve its aquatic and fitness facilities, the provincial and federal governments announced yesterday as part of a $719-million infrastructure spending blitz.

“We have been working on these projects for quite some time and it is very rewarding to have them all go forward,” said Bill Barisoff, MLA for Penticton-Okanagan Valley.

“New sports and recreational facilities, pathways and other infrastructure improvements continue to build healthy livable communities for our residents.”

The city presented an open house in March that had originally pegged the cost of the project at $23.8 million.

At the time they were hoping to receive one-third of that figure under a federal-provincial building grant called the Canada-B.C. Building Canada Fund. The two senior levels of government would share the remaining costs of the project.

The aquatic centre has served the city for 30 years and now has a number of inefficiencies and substandard change room facilities.

The opportunity has presented itself to the city for a Canada-B.C. Building Canada Fund for an infrastructure grant which they applied to.

The proposed project will also include a multi-purpose leisure and teaching pool with a variety of leisure features including 10 leveled swimming lanes, warm-up lanes, a water slide, lazy river, modern accessible change rooms and a warmer water temperature.

Additional improvements will include a much larger fitness/wellness component, expanded therapeutic whirlpool, sauna/steam rooms and a new and more convenient entrance to the community centre and pool.