A new recreation centre on Coquitlam’s Burke Mountain due to open in 2028 is in line for a federal grant.
On Monday, Dec. 2, city staff said they had applied to the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings Program for $45 million to offset the building costs for the Northeast Community Centre.
Council, which was required to endorse the application, offered no comment at its meeting.
Budgeted at $147.9 million and funded by development fees and debt borrowing, the facility is listed as an "A" priority in the city’s 2024 Business Plan to provide a recreation hub for the growing population on Burke Mountain.
The 80,000 sq. ft. building will be sited next to the future Burke Mountain Village and park, between Princeton Avenue and Burke Mountain Promenade, in the Partington Creek neighbourhood.
And, when open, it will include:
- an aquatics centre
- with a separate leisure and six-lane lap pool. whirlpool, sauna and steam room
- two gyms
- a fitness centre with a weight room and studio
- multi-purpose rooms, a community kitchen and a makerspace
- a new branch for the Coquitlam Public Library
Started in 2020 as part of a five-year, $1.5-billion federal package, the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings Program aims to improve accessibility, energy efficiency and climate resiliency in community buildings.
This past April, Ottawa extended the program until 2029 with a $500-million top-up.
Under “New Builds” — the category that Coquitlam is targeting for a grant — funding up to $25 million is considered; however, for capital projects that are more than that amount will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, with up to 50 per cent of the costs covered, wrote Lanny Englund, Coquitlam’s general manager of parks, recreation, culture and facilities, wrote in his report to council.
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