Burnaby looks to scrap Confederation Park Community Centre redevelopment

Burnaby city council is considering abandoning its plans for a pricey revamped Confederation Park Community Centre.

The project had been going full-steam ahead, with construction supposed to have started in the fall, until last summer when it came to a grinding halt.

In August 2024, council looked at scaling back the redevelopment after the provincial government changed legislation, which affects how cities can use density bonuses from developers. It effectively means the city can no longer tap into that money in the same way, and the project is no longer fully covered.

But now, councillors will consider nixing the redevelopment altogether.

In a report going to council on Tuesday, city staff say that despite reducing the project by $80 million, the city would still be required to borrow money to complete the project.

“While building a Recreation Community Centre to offer increased recreation and culture programs at the Confederation Park Sites would benefit the local community, there are advantages to deferring the project to align it with community needs, financial readiness, and strategic planning, ensuring a well-balanced distribution of recreation services across all of the City’s quadrants,” the staff report stated.

City staff are recommending that the project be deferred until there is “increased demand to enhance service provisions” in the northwest area of Burnaby and adequate funding is found.

However, abandoning the project isn’t cost-free.

“Implementing this option would require terminating existing contracts, incurring associated fees, and initiating a new procurement process in the future when needed, with construction costs expected to rise by 4-7% annually. Approval of this option would facilitate a more balanced distribution of net usable
community recreation space to other quadrants in the city that require additional space to achieve the targeted ratio of 1 square feet per capita, particularly around Town Centers with higher demand for community recreation service provision,” staff stated.

Meanwhile, if the city were to borrow the required funds to complete the project, city staff estimate an annual bill of between $10 million and $21 million, depending on interest rates and amortization years.

City councillors will look at the staff proposal on Tuesday.