Fundraiser for one of Canada's largest LGBTQ community centres in Vancouver | Daily Hive

Fundraising campaign for one of Canada's largest LGBTQ community hubs in Vancouver

Artistic rendering of 981 Davie St. (1190 Burrard St.) in Vancouver with QMUNITY. (ZGF Architects/New Commons Development)

This month, QMUNITY launched a fundraising campaign to build and open its new, expanded LGBTQ+ community and social service centre in downtown Vancouver.

The non-profit organization, which provides programs, resources, and services for LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly youth, will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2029.

The new 13,000-square-foot, two-storey hub will occupy the bottom levels of a 17-storey mixed-use social housing building currently under construction at 981 Davie St. — on the northeast corner of the intersection of Burrard Street and Davie Street at the eastern gateway to the Davie Village.

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Once complete, the new space will replace QMUNITY’s longtime, aging, and cramped home just two blocks west at 1170 Bute St. The new facility will be one of Canada’s largest LGBTQ+ community centres.

So far, the organization has already raised almost half of its $3.2 million goal from individuals and organizations.

“This centre is the result of a lifetime of work by our communities. Countless individuals and grassroots organizations have dreamed of a space that can support, uplift, and house our communities for generations to come. That dream is finally becoming a reality,” said Sid Koshul, the cabinet chair for QMUNITY’s campaign, in a statement.

“This is more than just a building; it’s a declaration. A declaration that queer and trans people belong here, in this province, in this country, at this moment. We’re calling on our community to help us get to the finish line.”

981 davie street vancouver social housing qmunity mass timber construction august 2025 f

August 2025 construction progress on the mixed-use social housing tower with QMUNITY at 981 Davie St., Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan)

QMUNITY offers free counselling, information, referrals, and one-on-one support. Finding QMUNITY a new purpose-built and larger space has been a process decades in the making.

The current fundraising efforts will help support expanded mental health services, peer engagement programming, culturally relevant art and design, furnishings and equipment, and the ongoing operational costs of a larger facility.

This particular location was first confirmed by the municipal government in 2014.

In 2017, the municipal government announced an initial financial contribution of $7 million toward the cost of building and furnishing the LGBTQ+ hub through community amenity contributions (CACs) received from the nearby Burrard Gateway development project.

In total, the entire tower project carries a cost of about $91 million, including $44.4 million from the municipal government — with $33.7 million from the value of the land through a 99-year nominal lease and $10.7 million for the LGBTQ+ hub — as well as $27.8 million from the provincial government and $15.4 million from the federal government.

As previously reported by Daily Hive Urbanized, the project will be a hybrid mass-timber building designed by ZGF Architects and constructed to meet Passive House green building standards.

Site of 981 Davie St. (1190 Burrard St.), Vancouver. (ZGF Architects)

Artistic rendering of 981 Davie St. (1190 Burrard St.) in Vancouver with QMUNITY. (ZGF Architects/New Commons Development)

981 Davie Street 1190 Burrard Street Vancouver qmunity

Artistic rendering of 981 Davie St. (1190 Burrard St.) in Vancouver with QMUNITY. (ZGF Architects/New Commons Development)

Layout of 981 Davie St. (1190 Burrard St.) in Vancouver with QMUNITY. (ZGF Architects/New Commons Development)

The building’s first two levels will feature a prominent rainbow-coloured glass façade, wrapping around the QMUNITY space to create a vibrant sense of place within the Davie Village.

In addition to the QMUNITY space, the ground level will feature a minor retail/restaurant space. Directly above, there will be 154 units of social housing. Community Land Trust will operate most of the building, with McLaren Housing Society managing 31 units for individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS.

Vancouver City Council approved the project’s City-spearheaded rezoning application in 2021.

Work at the site first began in 2022, and the tower is scheduled to reach completion in late 2026. QMUNITY will open its new space in early 2027.

Up until 2002, the organization was known as the Vancouver Gay Community Centre. It was briefly renamed as “The Centre: A Community Centre Serving and Supporting Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Bisexual People and Their Allies,” before being renamed again in 2009 as simply QMUNITY.

QMUNITY operated the first-ever Pride House for an Olympic Games during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, providing a temporary space for the gathering of LGBTQ+ athletes, volunteers, and visitors.

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