Alberta has announced it will be providing $15 million over three years for the Vivo for Healthier Generations expansion project, which will add 25,900 square metres (85,000 square feet) to the popular health and wellness centre operated by the charity in northeast Calgary. The expanded venue will include a unique indoor park and an applied research facility that will become a centre of excellence in helping families become healthier, happier and more connected.

Designed by Dialog, the facility will role model and demonstrate innovation and healthy living leadership. The main project components include an expanded aquatics centre, an expanded fitness centre, an indoor park, and the Canadian Healthier Living Academy for Healthier Generations.

The most innovative aspect of the expansion will be an indoor park – a literal moving indoors of all physical and social activities one would engage in at a park: from spontaneous play such as hide and seek, 3-on-3 soccer with jackets as goal posts, or reading a good book under the trees; to social gatherings such as movie in the park nights; to structured programs like bootcamps; all the way to community rentals. The park will include hillside play, a zen garden, activity nodes, and an urban beach.

Vivo works closely with more than 22 community organizations to provide programming to families in the rapidly growing neighbourhoods of north Calgary. Since the centre opened in 2004, there have been more than 1.3 million visits annually to the facility to gather, celebrate, be active and play.

The expansion of Vivo is expected to create 320 new jobs during construction and another 60 permanent jobs upon completion. The total project cost is estimated at $60 million.