Burnaby has postponed the $205-million Confederation Park Community Centre redevelopment, originally scheduled to begin construction this fall, as the city’s major civic project funding has run out.
Councillors unanimously voted to defer the project at a meeting Aug. 26, directing staff to return “in a reasonable time” with options on how the project can proceed, including information on a redesign and other funding sources.
Staff told council there is currently “insufficient funding” to proceed with the redevelopment, in part due to provincial changes around the development financing tools cities can use to fund amenities like community centres.
Councillors blamed the provincial changes for the funding gap, although skyrocketing construction costs and dwindling development activity are also factors.
“If there was anyone at this time to point the finger at, it has to be the provincial government,” Coun. Sav Dhaliwal said.
“The way they have come in and interfered with what the local governments had previously planned to run and develop their cities and create amenities.”
Dhaliwal said council now must make hard choices.
He stressed council has to think of more than just the facility’s capital cost: with multiple new major community centres and fire halls opening in the next five years, the city’s operating costs will increase as well – which the city will have to draw from property taxes.
The staff report said the Confederation Park project would result in an estimated tax rate increase in 2028 of about 1.19 per cent for this facility alone. The Cameron Community Centre and Library redevelopment (also planned to open in 2028) is expected to increase taxes by 2.09 per cent.
Coun. Pietro Calendino agreed the new provincial legislation “blindsided” councillors but added the redevelopment’s “iconic design” contributed to the “very high cost.”
Calendino said he wanted staff to return with a revised design without a walkway, without the “fancy plaza” and no connection between the community centre and swimming pool, keeping the Confederation Seniors’ Centre as it is.
General manager of lands and facilities, James Lota, said the price tag for the Confederation facility already had $30 million to $40 million shaved off through value engineering, a process in which cheaper materials and construction methods are substituted into existing plans.
Lota said revising the project would essentially mean “starting from scratch” with a new design.
Staff said if the redevelopment is delayed by five years, it could add another $82 million to the cost.
Multiple councillors said they were not prepared to wait five years to begin the project.
The Confederation Park redevelopment has already undergone two “major” redesigns since 2019, including removing and then re-introducing a second gym into the plans.
Burnaby’s CFO and deputy CAO Noreen Kassam said staff are trying to come up with projections for how much the province’s new development funding tools could generate, but with development activity currently uncertain, they don’t have numbers at this point.
If Burnaby doesn’t come up with the money through the development, the city may have to take on debt and financing, which would affect property taxes, according to Kassam.
Burnaby is one of the few B.C. municipalities to operate without debt, a standing financial principle of the city for decades.
Coun. James Wang suggested raising funds through selling industrial land, although this idea proved controversial with other councillors.
Mayor Mike Hurley was absent from the meeting, though he commented on the situation in a press release Aug. 28.
“As a city we are proud of the fact that for many years we have funded new facilities through our savings – not by borrowing or increasing taxes," he said.
“Changes by the province will make that difficult to avoid in the future, and this deferral will help minimize any impact to our residents.”
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