Burnaby has scrapped its plans to build the $240 million Confederation Park Community Centre (CPCC) due to funding issues.
The decision was made during Tuesday’s city council meeting. Councillors were presented with a staff report that outlined potential options about how to move forward with the CPCC project.
The first — and recommended choice — was to abandon the project, deferring it until “there is an increased demand to enhance recreation service provision in the Northwest Quadrant, adequate funding is secured, and the project aligns with City-wide facility needs and implementation strategy specified in the forthcoming Parks, Recreation and Culture Master Plan.”
Artistic rendering of the preliminary concept for Confederation Park Community Centre. (Revery Architecture/City of Burnaby)
The report said that at that point, the project could be brought back to the table with a new design reflecting updated community needs and facility standards. Abandoning the CPCC would cost the city nearly $15.8 million and would result in ending existing contracts and incurring associated fees.
The second option suggested the city redesign a smaller community centre and proceed with the project at a reduced cost of approximately $160 million. The estimated completion of the redesigned CPCC would be in 2029.
“This budget still allows us to deliver a comprehensive community center, incorporating the core provisions from the original project scope, while minimizing disruption to existing services, such as senior programs at the current site,” stated the report.
The CPCC was initially supposed to utilize funding from the city’s Community Benefit Bonus (CBB). An August city staff report to council noted the hiccup in funding was because the provincial government rolled out new legislation introducing the Amenity Cost Charge (ACC) tool for municipal governments.
Artistic rendering of the preliminary concept for Confederation Park Community Centre. (Revery Architecture/City of Burnaby)
The ACC has replaced Burnaby’s previous funding tool that collected fees from developers to fund such community amenity projects. In that report, staff noted that because ACC was brand new, the tool was yet to amass any pool of funding to support the estimated cost of building the initial CPCC project.
In the report to council this week, staff noted that proceeding with the project at a reduced cost would also need to be deferred for the ACC to accumulate sufficient funds.
A second funding path was also proposed in the report.
Artistic rendering of the preliminary concept for Confederation Park Community Centre. (Revery Architecture/City of Burnaby)
“An alternative option, if Council wishes to proceed prior to funds accumulating in the ACC program, is to move forward using external borrowing from the Municipal Financing Authority of British Columbia (MFABC),” said staff.
In the end, council voted for option one, scrapping the project for the time being.
However, the decision didn’t come easily, as several councillors expressed disappointment.
Coun. Pietro Calendino said he was dismayed in giving up on the plan and the “$20 million investment we’ve done on design, on consulting, and on the RFP for the construction company.”
Coun. James Wang echoed Calendino’s concerns stating that he still wanted the project to proceed because it’s been “long overdue.”
While Coun. Sav Dhaliwal said he understood the disappointment, he added that abandoning the plan for now doesn’t mean the CPCC will not be built.
“[Council]… can very well move ahead with something in three years, four years,” he said.
Council approved a motion from Mayor Mike Hurley that requested staff to return with a report on the scope and timing of a CPCC project in the future.
With files from Kenneth Chan