A $3-million project to repair Port Moody’s Kyle Centre has been shelved indefinitely.
Instead, council’s strategic priorities committee endorsed a staff recommendation that only minor fixes to keep the aging building open and functional be done while the city considers next steps for the property as part of a new land management strategy for its public lands.
In May 2022, Port Moody issued a request for expressions of interest for redeveloping Kyle Centre and its surrounding campus to also include affordable housing and a cultural plaza, as well as a possible market housing component to help pay for it all.
Paul Rockwood, the city’s general manager of finance and technology, said the request solicited three applicants.
In the meantime, the previous council decided the building needed immediate attention to address deficiencies identified in an engineering assessment completed in 2020.
Some of the problems included:
- deteriorating and leaking roof structures
- failing skylights
- corroded doors
- a leaking storage room that can no longer be used
- damaged cedar shingles
A previous report commissioned by the city in 2013 said Kyle Centre — which was constructed in 1977 — was already in danger of “functional obsolescence.”
Coun. Kyla Knowles said even with the building in such dour condition, spending $3 million to fix it up despite its uncertain future would be “like throwing lipstick on a pig.”
Mayor Meghan Lahti said it’s important the city take a step back and consider the future of Kyle Centre in the context of greater redevelopment plans for its surrounding Moody Centre neighbourhood.
“Moody Centre is going to have significant growth,” she said. “There will be significant needs down there.”
But Coun. Haven Lurbiecki said fixing up Kyle Centre just enough to keep its doors open neglects the needs of its current users, which includes seniors and various community organizations. It's also been used as an emergency warming shelter for the past two winters.
“It’s our obligation as a city to do something now,” she said. “We should be moving forward with a renovated Kyle Centre as a public good.”
But that’s a cost the city can’t afford, said Coun. Callan Morrison, especially if the building won’t be around much longer.
“Our city doesn’t have $3 million to throw around,” he said. “We have to have a wholesome discussion for a plan for that rec centre. It’s going to need to be something that will support the future of Port Moody.”
