NANAIMO — A property has been purchased for the future new home of a long-planned community centre to serve the city’s growing south end.
To be located at the western end of Eleventh St. at Junction Ave. adjacent to the AgeCare Malaspina care home, Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog said the City spent $3.85 million to purchase the land, with partial cost of the property offset by senior government funding.
“For any of you who have gone recently to Oliver Woods, if you go to our dear old Beban facility or Beban Park, you know that they are crowded, they are used and there is much need in our community.”
Krog added the City has committed a further $1.25 million for a required parking lot to support the project.
A map of the recently purchased lot in Chase River. (Google Maps)Describing the envisioned facility as similar to north Nanaimo’s Oliver Woods Community Centre, he told a Monday, July 7 news conference he hopes the project can be built as soon as reasonably possible.
“This has been the topic of conversation on the political and community level for a very long time…”
Krog noted $2.5 million from the B.C government’s Growing Communities Fund has been secured for the project.
While the City of Nanaimo has concepts in mind, detailed amenities need to be ironed out, Krog said.
He believes recent adjustments by the province to allow municipalities to borrow more money without the need for electoral consent could impact this project.
“I can’t really be specific, I’m not being evasive, I’m just being realistic, depending what the costs come in like.”
A 2023 capital projects overview provided to Nanaimo City Council estimated the price tag of building a south end community centre would cost between $40 and $80 million.
A wide array of components will be considered for an eventual south end community centre, including medical space, a library, recreation, meeting rooms and more. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)Darcie Osborne, director parks, recreation and culture for the City of Nanaimo, said the need for a south end community amenity has been discussed for many years.
“We got to a point in 2022 when we were able to work with consultants and identity a feasibility study that would help us determine the model, what this facility could look like and have some really good in-depth conversations around what those community amenities could look like,” Osborne said.
While agreeing Oliver Woods Community Centre is a project template that could be replicated, she noted the south end facility could include services such as a library or emergency services for unhoused populations.
“As the world evolves, we evolve,” Osborne said.
She added next steps include concept designs and for City Council to discern how the project lines up with its list of capital project priorities.
At this stage, the City is envisioning a single or two-storey facility between 54,000 and 66,000 square feet.
As a comparison, Oliver Woods Community Centre is a little over 35,000 square feet in size.
The south end community centre concept is currently not listed in the City’s five-year financial plan.
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