Promised new East Vancouver community centre facing uncertainty

Artistic rendering of the 2018 Britannia East Vancouver Master Plan. (City of Vancouver)

Vancouver’s elected municipal officials under the Green Party are hoping to salvage the promised renewal of the aging Britannia Community Centre through redevelopment.

The concept for the redevelopment of the 17-acre site was approved in July 2018 by the Vision Vancouver-led City Council.

The cluster of Britannia civic facilities is located just west of Commercial Drive at Napier Street in the Grandview-Woodland neighbourhood, which entail 1970s-built buildings containing Britannia Secondary School, Britannia Elementary School, Britannia Community Centre, Britannia Gym, Britannia Rink, Britannia Pool, and Vancouver Public Library’s Britannia branch.

You might also like:

Given the size of the redevelopment and the wide range of major different uses, it was originally envisioned the new buildings, facilities, and green spaces would be constructed across three phases over 10 to 20 years spanning multiple capital budget cycles. For the first major step after the concept approval, the aim was to begin the rezoning process in 2019 and detailed design work in 2020.

But more than five years after the redevelopment’s master plan approval, no progress has been made towards achieving the required rezoning, never mind reaching construction readiness. Funding is also currently unavailable, and there is no established timeline for the project.

Existing condition:

Existing site of Britannia in East Vancouver. (City of Vancouver)

Future condition:

The 2018 Britannia Master Plan. (City of Vancouver)

Some previous consultation materials from May 2022 indicate the redevelopment’s first phase will be the construction of a new community and recreation centre building on the site’s large north surface parking lot. This major building would contain an aquatic centre with a 25-metre lap pool and leisure pool, various fitness spaces, a gymnasium, and a childcare facility, with the potential for added floors above for affordable housing.

But according to the Green Party, a decision was made this past summer to effectively put the project “on hold indefinitely to prioritize maintenance repairs.” This decision “shifted funding and planning from renewal to assessing and advancing critical maintenance and repair needs for existing facilities at Britannia and prioritize that work, in order to ensure the facilities can continue to serve the community.”

Next week, Vancouver City Council will discuss the member motion put forward by Green Party councillors Pete Fry and Adriane Carr on identifying a path forward to realize the Britannia renewal project, including seeking funding from the provincial and federal governments.

“With new development and population growth underway and the current facilities rapidly deteriorating, we need to keep Britannia’s renewal a priority for our city, and advocate to our colleagues in the Provincial and Federal governments to provide the funding needed to move this critical project forward,” said Fry in a statement, adding that further prolonged delays would come to the detriment of the neighbourhood’s high number of low-income families, including seniors, new immigrants, and recent refugees, and the city’s largest urban Indigenous population.

Similar member motions on keeping the Britannia redevelopment alive will also be introduced by the Green Party’s elected officials in the Vancouver Park Board and Vancouver School Board later this fall.

Even in 2018 at the time of the master plan’s approval, the campus-like Britannia redevelopment carried an estimated construction cost of up to $490 million, including $280 million for the various new community and recreational facilities, $25 million for the new childcare facilities, $130 million for a significant affordable housing component built above the new community and recreational facility buildings, and $55 million for major new and improved parks and public spaces across the site.

However, with the significant inflation experienced over the last two years in the market prices for construction materials, equipment, and labour, it is almost certain that these original cost estimates are no longer relevant.

The 2018 Britannia Master Plan. (City of Vancouver)

Artistic rendering of the 2018 Britannia Master Plan. (City of Vancouver)

Earlier this month, after some delays related to cost escalation during the procurement process, City Council approved an $80-million construction contract to build the new Marpole Community Centre, which is now expected to reach completion by 2026 at a total cost of $91 million. An outdoor aquatic centre previously envisioned for the project will instead be considered as a future phase.

The construction budget of the entire facility — both the community centre building and outdoor aquatic centre — was previously estimated at up to $70 million, but this figure is based on a 2021 estimate before the onset of high inflation.

And this past September, City Council also approved a $13 million architectural design and project management contract for the new replacement of the aging Vancouver Aquatic Centre at Sunset Beach. Construction on the redevelopment, currently budgeted at $140 million, is expected to begin in 2026.

Cost escalation is also a major issue for the City of Burnaby’s upcoming major community and recreational centre projects. It recently went back to the drawing board on the design and planning process for its new Burnaby Lake Aquatic Centre, including taking the drastic step of firing its original architect. A construction contract had already been awarded, with site preparation, including the demolition of the old aquatic centre, conducted this past spring.

Britannia is not the only community centre in Vancouver in dire need of renewal. A 2022 report by Park Board staff identified 11 additional community centres that are either in “poor” or “very poor” condition, and require major renovations or a complete replacement over the next 10 to 20 years.

You might also like: