Burnaby council has cancelled a $240-million plan to build a major community centre at Confederation Park.
Councillors expressed their disappointment with the situation at a meeting Tuesday, Jan. 28.
Staff had recommended abandoning the plan to redevelop Confederation Park Community Centre, as not only have costs escalated since the project was first introduced, but the city’s usual major civic project funding source has run dry.
For the most part, councillors agreed with staff that the northwest quadrant of Burnaby won’t need another community centre because the Brentwood Community Centre has already been approved.
Funding concerns
Coun. Sav Dhaliwal acknowledged stopping the Confederation Park project would be a “disappointment to many.”
He stressed that abandoning the current project doesn’t mean the community centre won’t be built in the future.
The project is still on the city’s long-term to-do list, as it is included in calculations for the city’s new amenity funding bylaw, a new mechanism by which the city will fund major civic projects through charges on development.
But the bylaw was just introduced last year, and while some money has collected in that “amenity cost charge” reserve, staff are not sure when enough will accumulate to continue with the community centre project.
“It all depends on development and economic activity,” Noreen Kassam, chief financial officer and deputy chief administrative officer, told councillors.
Kassam noted if the council decided to scale down the project and borrow money for a $160-million community centre, the total loan cost for an amortization period of 10 years would be about $200 million — for a “bare bones facility.”
The city had originally planned to pay for the Confederation project using its community benefit bonus reserve, in which the city collects money from developers in exchange for allowing them to build taller towers and more homes, but the money in that reserve has run out as construction costs have soared.
While the city’s most recent annual report shows $1.15 billion in the community benefit bonus reserve, that money is already allotted to various major projects, including:
- Cameron Community Centre and Library ($267 million)
- Burnaby Lake Recreation Complex ($253 million)
- RCMP facility redevelopment ($162.5 million)
- James Cowan Theatre redevelopment ($55 million)
- Burnaby Lake overpass ($25.4 million)
Other projects committed to that reserve are the Brentwood Community Centre, fire halls No. 4 and No. 8 and the Rowan child-care facility. (The city has to move away from primarily using this type of amenity funding, as the province has legislated new funding tools, including the amenity cost charges mentioned above.)
Councillors weren’t willing to shell out $240 million for the full project as proposed.
Mayor Mike Hurley said paying $240 million for “some dry space is way over the top in cost.”
(Burnaby recently approved the Cameron Community Centre, which includes two pools and two gyms, for $267 million.)
Hurley said cancelling the project was a “very, very tough decision” but the provincial changes to amenity funding mean the city will “have to wait for more certain times.”
“I don’t agree we should ever go into debt,” Hurley said.
Some opposition to abandoning
One councillor, however, was particularly opposed to abandoning the project.
Coun. Pietro Calendino said he was loath to give up the design.
He said current residents only want a gym, a fitness centre and some program rooms.
“They’re not asking for the moon; they’re just asking for a small facility to complement the existing senior centre.”
He said had he known approving the Brentwood Community Centre would mean shelving the Confederation Park project, he would have opposed Brentwood from the outset.
Calendino unsuccessfully tried to suggest using debt financing to pay for a project with a more limited scope, but only councillors Joe Keithley and James Wang supported his motion.
Calendino and Wang also opposed abandoning the project altogether.
Cancelling the project will require terminating existing contracts and incurring associated fees.
The city has already spent about $15.8 million on the project.
Short history of the Confederation Park Community Centre project
Preliminary planning for the Confederation Park Community Centre project was underway by May 2019.
By August 2021, the estimated price was $127 million, give or take 30 per cent, and one of the two planned gymnasiums was cut from the design. Councillors later said this was due to sticker shock.
In February 2023, councillors asked to put the second gym back in the plans.
Staff said adding a second gym wouldn’t delay the project: “It’s not a heck of a lot of work to put (the gym) back in.”
However, in December 2023, councillors were “surprised” to see the cost jump to about $238 million.
Staff said council had requested additional work, beyond the second gym, and noted construction costs have “gone up exceptionally.”
Then in August last year, council deferred the project over cost concerns.
Now that the project has been abandoned, staff will try to find ways to increase services around Confederation Park.
That could include using the local seniors centre outside of prime hours, such as early mornings on the weekend and after it closes, and adding more programming for kids at the Sohen Gill Sport Box.
Hurley asked staff to return with a report on the scope and possible timing of a future Confederation Park Community Centre project.
📣 Do you think Burnaby should build Confederation Park Community Centre now, or do you agree that the northwest has enough recreation facilities for the time being? Send us a letter or email your thoughts or story tips to [email protected].
