Temporary Filipino cultural centre location planned for Vancouver's Library Square
Staff with the City of Vancouver are zeroing in on a long-vacant retail unit within the atrium of Library Square in Downtown Vancouver as the temporary location for a Filipino cultural and community centre.
The proposed centre would occupy a 1,535-square-foot retail unit at the southern end of the atrium — the largest retail space within the atrium — formerly occupied by Blenz Coffee. It is located directly across from the Vancouver Public Library’s Central Branch space within the complex.
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This follows a direction from Vancouver City Council in December 2025, when city councillors approved Mayor Ken Sim’s member motion directing City staff to work with a developer that is in the preliminary stages of assembling a proposal to build two hotel towers with about 500 guest rooms on Main Street in Mount Pleasant. The proposal would also include a sizeable permanent purpose-built centre for the Filipino community within the base of the south tower fronting Main Street at East 4th Avenue.
The motion also directed City staff to work with the recently created Filipino Legacy Society to identify a suitable City-owned or City-controlled location that could be leased to the non-profit organization at a nominal rate, providing the Filipino community with a temporary brick-and-mortar gathering space until a permanent facility is completed.
Former Blenz Coffee space inside the atrium of Library Square in Downtown Vancouver. (City of Vancouver)
City staff note that the former cafe space would require between $50,000 and $80,000 in improvements, depending on the tenant’s needs.
Next month, City Council will formally consider both the proposed nominal lease and potential tenant improvement funding. The lease would have an initial term of at least two years.
The retail units inside the atrium have experienced relatively high vacancies in recent years, especially since the pandemic.
The provincial government has already indicated its strong support for establishing a Filipino community and cultural centre in British Columbia, with the Main Street project receiving backing from Vancouver-Kensington MLA Mable Elmore, a prominent member of the Filipino community. However, the provincial government has not formally committed funding to any specific project at this time.
The federal government has also set aside capital funding to help support the creation of such a centre in Metro Vancouver.
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