A “lack of available funding” has thrown a wrench in the City of Burnaby’s plans to redevelop Confederation Park Community Centre.
Staff have released a report recommending council defer the project.
While construction on the three-storey, $205.2-million facility was scheduled to begin this fall, staff say there is now “insufficient funding” to proceed.
The Confederation Park redevelopment has undergone two “major” redesigns since 2019, including removing and then re-introducing a second gym into the plans.
Now, with construction costs skyrocketing, Burnaby’s reserve of money collected from developers to pay for community amenities is drained.
And earlier this year, the province approved new legislation around development financing tools called “amenity cost charges” or ACCs, which staff said have “substantially impacted the way all cities in B.C. can fund community recreation infrastructure.”
“As this funding program is new, no ACC funding has been collected to date to fund this growth portion of the (Confederation Park Community Centre),” said the report, adding staff don’t know when the city will collect the funds as it’s based on developer contributions.
The ACCs won’t be able to fund about $31.2 million of the project, due to the parameters of the charge, leaving the city on the hook to find that money as well.
But waiting too long could mean the city takes yet another financial hit from what’s estimated to be a seven per cent construction cost escalation over the next five years – at least.
“If this project is deferred by five years, this project is expected to cost about $82 million more to build, assuming no design changes,” stated the report.
The project was originally estimated to cost $127 million in 2021.
If council votes to defer it, all planning activities and current contracts will be terminated, according to the report.
Programming at the Confederation Seniors Society would remain in place.
Staff noted there is a positive to deferring the construction: the city is currently planning to open four other new major facilities in the next five years, which will be “challenging” especially when it comes to staffing levels.
“Deferring the construction of (Confederation) will also help mitigate that operating impact,” said the report.
Council will vote on the contract Monday, Aug. 26.
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