Two Vancouver mayoral hopefuls pitch rival plans to rebuild community centres | Daily Hive

Two mayoral candidates lay out competing visions for rebuilding Vancouver's community centres in OneCity nomination race, including the Britannia redevelopment

2018-approved master plan concept for redeveloping the Britannia site of community and recreational facilities. (Vancouver Park Board)

Two candidates seeking OneCity Vancouver’s nomination for mayor in the October 2026 civic election are staking out competing — but overlapping — visions for how the City of Vancouver should rebuild its aging community centres and recreation centres, with the approach for the Britannia civic hub emerging as an election issue early on in the race.

With both candidates focusing heavily on recreation and community infrastructure, the race for OneCity’s nomination is shaping up as a debate between an early, site-specific push to revive the 1970s-built Britannia facilities in the Grandview-Woodland neighbourhood and a broader promise to overhaul the entire system of community centres and pools across Vancouver.

William Azaroff, a OneCity mayoral nomination candidate, announced a plan today to “Build Back Britannia” — committing to accelerate the long-delayed renewal of the facility and incorporate the project into the 2027-2030 capital budget to enable construction to begin sooner rather than later.

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Azaroff pointed to the Vancouver Park Board’s 2018-approved master plan for the site-wide redevelopment of Britannia, a concept for new and expanded community and recreational facilities that has remained unbuilt for nearly a decade.

He highlighted rising construction costs and a worsening infrastructure deficit across the city. His campaign notes that the deputy city manager has estimated that construction costs have been rising by about 20 per cent for every year of waiting.

Even in 2018, as previously reported by Daily Hive Urbanized, the Britannia concept carried an estimated 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.

britannia community centre vancouver master plan 2018

2018-approved master plan concept for redeveloping the Britannia site of community and recreational facilities. (Vancouver Park Board)

To further illustrate the point for the need for renewal, Britannia’s ice rink has been closed since March 2024 because of a brine leak and other mechanical issues, with a reopening scheduled for later in February 2026.

The municipal government is currently spending $17.5 million in repairs and other maintenance work for both the ice rink and pool facilities at Britannia. City staff recently restarted the preliminary planning process for the redevelopment, with construction currently unlikely to begin until sometime in the 2030s at the very earliest.

“Families across Vancouver know the reality of our infrastructure deficit: dragging kids out of bed before sunrise to get ice time, stressing over swimming lessons, and suddenly losing your rink when it closes for repairs,” said Azaroff.

“We can’t afford to wait another year — let alone another decade. Let’s get shovels in the ground.”

Azaroff’s proposal would prioritize the first two buildings in Britannia’s master plan and include a “design sprint” to reassess elements approved in 2018, with the goal of being ready for the next federal funding cycle. His plan calls for a new aquatic centre with an eight-lane lap swimming pool, leisure pool, and hot tub, a modern gymnasium, a fitness centre, a new ice rink, and a child-care facility for 69 kids.

2018-approved master plan concept for redeveloping the Britannia site of community and recreational facilities. (Vancouver Park Board)

Meanwhile, also today, fellow OneCity nomination contender Amanda Burrows launched a broader, city-wide plan, arguing that Vancouver’s problems extend far beyond any single site.

“Community centres and pools are where neighbourhoods come together: for kids learning to swim, seniors staying active, and families building community,” said Burrows. “Under Ken Sim, too many of them are crumbling, closed, or stretched far beyond capacity. This isn’t a single-site problem. It’s a city-wide failure of leadership.”

Burrows’ platform commits to a system-wide renewal of outdated community centres and aquatic facilities across Vancouver, including a specific mention of Britannia’s old pool and community centre.

“Families don’t experience this as abstract capital planning,” said Burrows. “They experience it as years-long waitlists for swimming lessons, and facilities closing without clear timelines to reopen.”

Existing condition of Britannia Pool in East Vancouver. (Britannia Community Services Society)

Existing condition of Britannia Rink in East Vancouver. (Britannia Community Services Society)

She also argued that neighbourhoods across the city need to be included in a coordinated rebuilding effort.

“Our pools and community centres matter, from Britannia, to Killarney, to Kerisdale and Kits — and every neighbourhood where people rely on public pools and community centres,” said Burrows. “We need a plan that fixes the system and delivers projects we keep promising in places like South Vancouver.”

Her approach includes a city-wide assessment of facilities, prioritizing projects that expand access to aquatics, childcare and recreation, aligning capital planning with climate and seismic upgrades, and pursuing the federal and provincial government’s funding cycles more strategically.

“As mayor, I won’t pit neighbourhoods against each other for scraps,” said Burrows. “I’ll lead a city-wide effort to rebuild the public spaces that make Vancouver livable.”

With a choice between Azaroff and Burrows, OneCity is scheduled to select its mayoral candidate on Feb. 11, 2026, with nominations for Vancouver City Council, Vancouver Park Board, and Vancouver School Board scheduled in May 2026. The civic election will be held on Oct. 17, 2026.

vancouver aquatic centre 2025 design new

2025 concept of the new Vancouver Aquatic Centre. (MJMA Architecture & Design/Acton Ostry Architects/Vancouver Park Board)

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