Inside North Vancouver's newly opened $230-million Harry Jerome recreation centre | Daily Hive

Inside North Vancouver's newly opened $230-million Harry Jerome Community Recreation Centre

The new Harry Jerome Community Recreation Centre, as of July 2, 2026 during its final preparatory work. (City of North Vancouver)

More than two decades of planning have culminated in today’s opening of the new Harry Jerome Community Recreation Centre, now the largest community recreation facility on the North Shore and one of the largest of its kind in Metro Vancouver.

The City of North Vancouver officially opened the facility this morning, welcoming the public for tours, live performances, and recreation demonstrations inside the nearly 190,000 sq. ft. building in Central Lonsdale.

The recreation centre and the neighbouring new Silver Harbour Seniors’ Activity Centre have a combined project budget of $230 million. Together, the facilities span approximately 328,000 sq. ft. when underground areas are included.

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This was a major undertaking for a small municipal government in a jurisdiction with just over 60,000 residents.

“I am incredibly proud that after more than 20 years of planning, engagement and determination, the new Harry Jerome Community Recreation Centre is finally open to the residents of North Vancouver,” said North Vancouver City Mayor Linda Buchanan.

During the detailed planning stage about a decade ago, this project to replace aging facilities and better meet long-term needs was controversial at times because of its high cost.

An earlier $237-million plan was paused after the 2018 civic election and later scaled back to reduce the cost to $182 million. The redesigned version replaced a 50-metre competition pool with a 25-metre pool, removed the curling rink and second gymnasium, reduced the building’s overall size, and cut underground vehicle parking from about 600 stalls to just under half. Even with those reductions, there were still higher construction costs from pandemic-induced inflation and unexpected soil cleanup, which pushed the final budget to $230 million.

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The new Harry Jerome Community Recreation Centre, as of July 2, 2026 during its final preparatory work. (City of North Vancouver)

Over the coming months, starting next week, visitors can expect a soft opening condition of the centre’s wide range of facilities, features, and operational programming.

Some parts of the new complex will open for public use beginning Monday, July 27. There will initially be drop-in and “try-it” activities, with most regular programming expected to begin in September 2026.

It should be also emphasized that the major aquatic centre is not scheduled to open until later this Fall 2026.

Site preparation at the northeast corner of the intersection of Lonsdale Avenue and East 23rd Street — on a City-owned site previously used for public park space and surface vehicle parking — began in March 2022, followed by permitting and major construction work starting in Fall 2022. The building complex began to take shape in 2024.

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February 2026 construction progress on the aquatic centre at the new Harry Jerome Community Recreation Centre. (City of North Vancouver)

Artistic rendering of the aquatic centre at the new Harry Jerome Community Recreation Centre. (City of North Vancouver)

The aging Harry Jerome recreation complex across the street permanently closed earlier this summer for the final preparations ahead of the opening of the new facility. It is 52 per cent larger than the old facility immediately to the south, which will eventually be demolished for a future high-density, mixed-use development.

In 2021, the City ended a planned lease deal with Darwin Properties for the second phase of the Harry Jerome Neighbourhood Lands after the developer did not meet a key financial condition. The deal, which would have covered a major portion of the City’s project costs, did not go ahead, although earlier land agreements for the first phase of building rental housing and a seniors’ residential care facility remained in place. The City then found another way to finance the new Harry Jerome centre through short-term loans, and moved ahead on its own, with Smith Bros. & Wilson building the complex.

Smith Bros. & Wilson is the same local construction firm that built the original Harry Jerome centre just six decades ago

The new complex was designed by Vancouver-based architectural firm HCMA. Inspiration from the surrounding North Shore mountain landscape were incorporated into the architecture, including a wood-coffered lobby ceiling intended to reflect the forests.

“The Harry Jerome Community Recreation Centre is a generational project that will amplify community building in the City of North Vancouver,” said Paul Fast, a project architect and principal at HCMA, the Vancouver-based architectural firm that designed the new complex.

“It will set new standards for accessibility and social inclusion, ensuring that anyone, regardless of background or ability, will find their place here.”

The new Harry Jerome Community Recreation Centre, as of July 2, 2026 during its final preparatory work. (City of North Vancouver)

The aquatic centre has four pools, including a 25-metre, 10-lane lap swimming pool and a leisure pool with a lazy river, spray features, and a toddler play area. The diving facilities include a three-metre platform, a three-metre springboard, and two one-metre springboards. It also has a family hot pool, an adults-only hot pool, a steam room, a dry sauna, and an outdoor patio.

The pools use a low-energy, low-chlorine filtration system that the City says is only the second of its kind installed at a Canadian recreation facility. The gravity-fed drum filtration technology is designed to improve water and air quality, while reducing energy use and water consumption by as much as 50 per cent.

Other major components include an NHL-sized arena with seating for up to 500 spectators. It can be used for ice hockey, para ice hockey, ringette, public skating, lacrosse, inline hockey and other dry-floor sports.

This ice rink has a built-in energy exchange system, where the heat generated from making ice is captured and repurposed to help heat the pool waters. This is enabled by the use of a carbon-dioxide refrigeration system, which is not only greener but also safer than other methods like ammonia.

The new Harry Jerome Community Recreation Centre, as of July 2, 2026 during its final preparatory work. (City of North Vancouver)

The complex also includes a full-size gymnasium, eight multipurpose rooms, fitness gym, an indoor walking loop, an art studio, a community kitchen, and spaces for preschool, early-years and youth programming. A cafe operated by Nomad is also planned for a commercial retail unit.

Additionally, the complex features expansive indoor common areas and circulation spaces that can accommodate gatherings and events. The centrepiece of an atrium includes a whimsical play feature: an indoor slide that allows children — and big kids at heart — to travel from the second floor to the first as an alternative to using the adjacent staircase.

Outdoor features of the complex include outdoor fitness spaces, a new skate park, a nature play area, a children’s playground, and a multi-sport court.

Below the sprawling complex is an underground parkade for 270 vehicles.

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The new Harry Jerome Community Recreation Centre, as of July 2, 2026 during its final preparatory work. (City of North Vancouver)

The new facility will be operated and programmed by the City’s NVRCC.

During a media technical briefing before the opening on Friday, when asked by Daily Hive Urbanized, Heather Turner, director of the NVRCC, said the building’s prominent location and public interest during construction would likely contribute to heavy initial demand.

“In the early days, everybody’s going to want to come here. A lot of people have been passing by it during the construction phase because it’s very prominent from Highway 1. So I’m sure in the first months it’s going to be very, very busy with people from across the region,” said Turner.

Turner emphasized that “first and foremost this is intended for North Vancouver residents,” but said people are willing to travel to use distinctive recreation facilities.

She predicted the aquatics centre would draw visitors because it offers features that are not commonly found elsewhere, while the accessibility of the arena is also expected to generate additional booking requests.

“Our arena is going to have the most accessible arena surface so I’m sure we’re going to see many more requests to use our arena,” said Turner.

Barbara Pearce, the City’s deputy chief administrative officer who oversaw the new Harry Jerome complex and other major capital projects like The Shipyards on the Lonsdale waterfront, said the facility will serve several roles simultaneously.

North Vancouver’s recreation centres operate as a connected system, allowing residents to use facilities across the two municipalities. Pearce said the aquatic centre, arena, and large fitness gym will likely have the broadest geographic reach, while other rooms and programs are intended to serve more local needs.

“Some of the other spaces are really more community or neighbourhood focused. But we know that just due to the size and the amenity and the opportunities that this centre provides that it’s going to be both. So it’s certainly going to go beyond residents,” said Pearce.

Fast noted the usage patterns at other recently completed recreation centres suggest the initial rush will not necessarily represent the facility’s permanent level of demand.

“We typically see sort of an increased level of usage for the first one to three years and then it sort of settles down into the more regular pattern of usage that we see for the long term duration of the facility,” said Fast.

HCMA’s previous work includes Rosemary Brown Recreation Centre in Burnaby, Minoru Centre for Active Living in Richmond, the new aquatic and community centre replacing Canada Games Pool in New Westminster, West Vancouver Aquatic Centre, and Clayton Community Centre and Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre in Surrey, as well as Hillcrest Centre (Vancouver Olympic Centre), Killarney Pool, and River District Community Centre in Vancouver.

The new Harry Jerome Community Recreation Centre, as of July 2, 2026 during its final preparatory work. (City of North Vancouver)

The new Harry Jerome centre is pursuing gold certification through the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification program.

Its accessibility features include ramps into the leisure pool, family hot pool and lap pool, as well as a lift into the adults-only hot pool. Fully accessible change rooms and washrooms include an adult-sized change table and lift mechanism.

The building also has wide circulation routes, high-contrast signs, braille, a tactile directory, a hearing loop, and seating along longer corridors. The community kitchen includes work surfaces, a sink and a cooktop installed at accessible heights.

The facility has been certified under the Canada Green Building Council’s Zero Carbon Building Design Standard. The City estimates the new centre will use 53 per cent less energy, supported by a heavily insulated building envelope, natural daylight, and water and rainwater reuse, as well as the new technology used for the pool waters and ice rink systems.

Five public art pieces can also be found at the complex.

Artist Yared Nigussu created “At the Heart of It,” a mural depicting community members in the main stairwell, and “Mighty Jerome,” a portrait of Harry Jerome displayed in the atrium.

The new complex continues to carry the name of Harry Jerome, who moved to North Vancouver at age 12 and attended North Vancouver High School before becoming an internationally celebrated track-and-field athlete.

Jerome set numerous world records and represented Canada in the 1960, 1964, and 1968 Summer Olympics, winning one bronze medal. After retiring from competition, he advocated for youth sports, improved funding for Canadian athletes and greater diversity in television. He was also appointed to the Order of Canada.

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The iconic bronze statue of Harry Jerome on the Stanley Park seawall, backdropped by the Downtown Vancouver skyline. (26ShadesOfGreen/Shutterstock)

As for the other public art pieces, Jill Anholt’s suspended stainless-steel sculpture, “Transcendent,” was inspired by the perseverance needed to overcome obstacles, as well as the shapes of running tracks, courts and ice rinks.

Angela Paul created a handwoven wall hanging titled “Nest of the Thunderbird,” reflecting the histories and cultures of the Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. Paul also worked with Aaron Nelson Moody on “Two-Headed Thunderbird,” a glass mural beside the aquatics centre that uses traditional Coast Salish weaving patterns.

The City is also planning to build a harbour swimming deck on the Lonsdale waterfront, just in front of Waterfront Park — immediately west of the SeaBus maintenance facility and terminal. If all goes as planned, the $21-million project of a permanent natural swimming experience in sea water could open in Summer 2027, with the vast majority of the cost covered by national charity Swim Drink Fish through a donation by Canada’s Weston family — best known for their ownership of the Loblaws grocery store empire.

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