Construction finally begins on Vancouver's new community centre in Marpole

Artistic rendering of the new Marpole-Oakridge Community Centre in Vancouver's Oak Park. (Diamond Schmitt Architects/City of Vancouver)

The official construction groundbreaking ceremony took place this week on the new replacement and expanded Marpole-Oakridge Community Centre, after well over a decade of project planning work.

The new community centre will be built at the southern end of Oak Park — the northeast corner of the intersection of Oak Street and Park Drive. The existing 1949-built community centre building at the north end of the park, one of Vancouver’s oldest community centre facilities, will be demolished after the new facility opens.

When complete, this will be Vancouver’s first new community centre in about a decade and a half.

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“This new community centre will ensure we continue to deliver important services to the growing community, including childcare, for decades to come. It also supports one of Vancouver’s key priorities to create a healthy, inclusive and equitable city that places the physical and mental health of Vancouverites front and centre,” said Mayor Ken Sim in a statement.

Vancouver Park Board chair Scott Jensen added, “It’s evident that the existing facility can no longer support the needs of its growing local population. Today’s event marks an important milestone for this long-awaited new facility for Marpole and the wider Vancouver community.”

marpole-oakridge community centre vancouver 2022 design

Artistic rendering of the new Marpole-Oakridge Community Centre in Vancouver’s Oak Park. (Diamond Schmitt Architects/City of Vancouver)

The new 42,000 sq ft, two-storey building will contain a gymnasium, fitness centre and studios, sensory room, multi-purpose spaces, kitchen, childcare facility for up to 74 kids, and fieldhouse with change room and washroom for sport field users.

Outdoor features include basketball courts, an outdoor performance space, and gathering areas.

The project originally included an attached outdoor aquatic centre and spray park, but that will now be pursued as a future phase due to cost constraints.

Artistic rendering of the new Marpole-Oakridge Community Centre in Vancouver’s Oak Park. (Diamond Schmitt Architects/City of Vancouver)

2022 concept for the new Marpole-Oakridge Community Centre in Vancouver’s Oak Park. (Diamond Schmitt Architects/City of Vancouver)

This will be a Passive House and LEED Gold certified green building, with all-electric building systems, the use of mass timber construction, and rainwater systems that can capture and clean the first 48 mm of rainfall during a 24-hour period. Additionally, it will be the first City-owned community centre with the Rick Hansen Accessibility Gold certification for optimal accessible building design. The project’s design firm is Diamond Schmitt Architects.

Last month, Vancouver City Council approved an $80-million contract to Heatherbrae Builders to build the new facility. The City’s total project cost, including design and planning work, is $91.3 million, with $3 million covered by the provincial government’s Growing Communities Fund.

The construction budget of the entire facility — both the community centre building and outdoor aquatic centre as a single construction phase — was previously estimated at up to $70 million, but this figure is based on a 2021 estimate before the onset of high inflation in the market prices for construction materials, equipment, and labour.

Artistic rendering of the new Marpole-Oakridge Community Centre in Vancouver’s Oak Park. (Diamond Schmitt Architects/City of Vancouver)

Construction on the new Marpole-Oakridge Community Centre is now expected to reach completion in 2025, instead of the previously stated date of 2026.

Two other new community centres are in the works for the Oakridge/Marpole/Cambie Corridor area.

If all goes as planned, the new Oakridge community centre, including a new replacement and expanded space for Vancouver Public Library’s Oakridge branch, will open in 2024. This project is being privately built and funded as part of the Oakridge Park (Oakridge Centre) redevelopment as a community amenity contribution, with the facility under City ownership upon completion.

And just one block east of Oakridge Park mall, the area will also gain a $155-million privately-operated community, recreational, and aquatic centre through the redevelopment of the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver at the southeast corner of the intersection of Oak Street and West 41st Avenue. The non-profit organization intends to build an eight-storey, 245,000 sq ft facility on the existing surface parking lot.

Artistic rendering of the City of Vancouver community centre and Vancouver Public Library branch integrated into a social housing tower at Oakridge Park (Oakridge Centre) mall. (Henriquez Partners Architects/Westbank/Quadreal Property Group)

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 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)

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