$25 million in federal funding for new Vancouver Jewish Community Centre

Federal government provides $25 million for new Vancouver Jewish Community Centre

Artistic rendering of the first phase of the new community and recreation hub of the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. (Acton Ostry Architects)

The project of providing the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver with a new replacement facility with expanded space received a funding bump today of $25 million from the federal government.

This is a redevelopment of the existing facility spanning more than two city blocks or about 3.3 acres at 950 West 41st Avenue — near the southeast corner of the intersection of Oak Street and West 41st Avenue.

“The Government of Canada stands with Jewish communities across Canada and around the world. Today’s investment is part of our commitment to an inclusive Canada that is strong and proud of its diversity. Supporting cultural facilities is essential, not only to retain their viability today, but to help them flourish for generations to come,” said the Pablo Rodriguez, the federal minister of Canadian Heritage, in a statement.

“We are proud that our support for the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver will strengthen Holocaust education, improve accessibility to arts and heritage, and combat antisemitism.”

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The federal government’s contribution matches the provincial government’s $25 million contribution committed in April 2021. Another $25 million was donated by the family foundation of Jack and Gordon Diamond in September 2022.

The entire multi-phased redevelopment is expected to carry a cost of $427 million, with $155 million for the first phase based on a 2025 completion and $272 million for the second phase based on a 2028 completion.

Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver 950 West 41st Avenue

Artistic rendering of the first phase of the new community and recreation hub (left) and the second phase of rental housing towers (right) of the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. (Acton Ostry Architects)

Artistic rendering of the first phase of the new community and recreation hub (right) and the second phase of rental housing towers (left) of the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. (Acton Ostry Architects)

The first phase will be a new eight-storey, 245,000 sq ft community centre on the existing surface parking lot, which allows the existing community centre and its programming to remain operational during construction.

There will be a new larger aquatic centre, gymnasiums, fitness facilities, 450-seat performing arts theatre, Holocaust Education Centre, library, gallery, and office space for community partner organizations and internal administration. This building will be topped off by an Early Childhood Education Facility with a childcare capacity for 108 young kids — more than double the existing building’s childcare capacity and in addition to the new replacement space for the existing after-school program for 100 elementary-age kids.

The second phase will involve the demolition of the existing community centre building for the construction of two towers reaching up to 26 storeys — containing 500 units of secured rental housing for a range of incomes and an underground parking facility. Significant outdoor recreation and open green spaces are also planned.

The base levels of the second phase could potentially accommodate a new replacement and expanded home for King David High School, which is currently located within a 2005-built building just east of the existing community centre’s parking lot.

Layout of the first phase of the new community and recreation hub (left) and the second phase of rental housing towers (right) of the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. (Acton Ostry Architects)

950 West 41st Avenue Vancouver Jewish Community Centre

Site plan of the Jewish Community Centre redevelopment at 950 West 41st Avenue, Vancouver. (Acton Ostry Architects)

A revised site-wide rezoning application was approved by Vancouver City Council in 2020, and a development permit application was submitted this past summer for the first phase.

“The funding from the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage contributes the resources necessary to support and sustain the Jewish community in Vancouver. The redevelopment will create an invaluable and welcoming cultural, social, recreational and educational hub for all to enjoy,” said Eldad Goldfarb, executive director of the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver.

“The new space is poised to be a connection point that people of all ages and from all walks of life can enjoy for generations to come, and the legacy of this redevelopment will last a lifetime.”

Although this is not a publicly owned facility by the municipal government, the new community centre is expected to help serve the needs of the growing population within the Cambie Corridor as a result of the area’s immense densification over the coming decades.

Immediately north of the Jewish Community Centre site is TransLink’s former Oakridge bus depot — a 14-acre site set to become a high-density neighbourhood with over 1,600 homes. Earlier in 2022, Grosvenor acquired the controlling stake in the property and the approved redevelopment plans.

The two phases of the redevelopment of the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. (Acton Ostry Architects)

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