Park Board to receive $7 Million for new Sunset Community Centre

November 10, 2003 (No. 58) - The Vancouver Park Board is to receive $7 million for the replacement and relocation of Sunset Community Centre. In an announcement this morning by the Canada/BC Infrastructure Program, a grant of $4 million was approved, with $2 million each coming from the Federal and Provincial governments. An additional $3 million towards the project has already been committed by the City of Vancouver through its 2003-2005 Capital Plan.

Opened in 1950 and located in East Vancouver, Sunset is the city's oldest community centre. Renewal plans propose that the new centre be fronted on Main Street near the Park Board's Sunset Nursery. Services will emphasize children, youth, and inclusive programs for newcomers and non-English speakers. The project will allow for a modern, efficient layout, larger programming spaces, a bigger lobby, elevator, seismic protection and a more visible, accessible location. Features under consideration include multi-purpose rooms, a full size gymnasium, dance room, arts and crafts space, fitness room, pre-school space and a 'green' (sustainable) operating system.

Sunset Community Centre serves a multi-cultural population of over 33,000, with a high proportion of Chinese and Punjabi residents, and young families and children. Pressures on the ageing facility have been acute. The building is located two blocks off the nearest main street and lacks visibility and accessibility. The current centre's three level 2300 m² (25,000 ft²) building includes a 1950s layout, small programming spaces, constrained lobby, lack of an elevator, and seismic and other building code deficiencies.

Park Board Chair Heather Deal said, "For more than five decades, Sunset Community Centre has been an important symbol of the community. Rich in history, it has delivered recreational, cultural and social activities to an ethnically diverse, growing neighborhood. Today's announcement will keep the centre vibrant and successful, with inviting and flexible spaces and innovative programs."

Relocation will allow continuous use of the old facility until the new one is ready for occupancy sometime in 2006. The aim of the Canada/BC Infrastructure Program is to enhance the quality of life for people in communities around BC by improving infrastructure. The current program, grass-roots driven, operates through a unique partnership of federal, provincial, municipal and non-government players.

For more information contact Joyce Courtney, Manager of Communications, 604-257-8699

The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation maintains 200 parks and 40 major facilities throughout the City of Vancouver. The Park Board's mission is to provide, preserve and advocate for parks and recreation services to benefit people, communities and the environment.

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