The days of Port Moody’s aging Kyle Centre may be numbered.
Tuesday, July 15, council’s strategic priorities committee will consider whether it should spend $515,000 to begin conceptual design work on a new community centre. The money would come from the city’s community amenity contribution reserve fund.
According to a staff report authored by project manager Sandy Tolentino, the new 30,000 sq. ft. facility would be almost triple the size of the existing Kyle Centre, that was constructed in 1977 and has fallen into disrepair.
In 2023, council shelved a $3-million plan to repair the 11,000 sq. ft. building that had previously been approved a year earlier. Mayor Meghan Lahti said the reconsideration was sparked by anticipated growth in the surrounding Moody Centre neighbourhood.
“There will be significant needs down there,” she said.
Coun. Kyla Knowles said fixing up the old building, which had been identified as in danger of “functional obsolescence” as far back as 2013, amounted to “throwing lipstick on a pig.”
In her report, Tolentino said Kyle Centre is “nearing its end of life,” and as the neighbourhood grows, “it’s clear that a new, larger facility is needed.”
Tolentino estimated a new community centre will cost $30-$40 million. Half the money would come from city reserve funds while the other half would be financed through the Municipal Finance Authority, necessitating a property tax increase of 1.47 – 1.97 per cent.
Construction would take about 24 months with a preliminary completion date anticipated in late 2028.
Tolentino said the new structure would be in the same location as the existing Kyle Centre, while leaving room for a potential future affordable housing project just to the west. The current surface parking lot that also services PoMoArts would become an underground parkade shared by the neighbouring facilities with a potential connection to the housing structure.
Kyle Park would also be expanded and upgraded east of Kyle Street where Port Moody acquired two residential properties for $5.9 million in 2024.
Tolentino said the city will review options to connect the new Kyle Centre with the expanded park, including closing roads and the construction of a community plaza.
She said consideration of council’s strategic priorities as well as feedback from residents “has led to the understanding that now is the time to take steps to move forward and develop a plan for a replacement of Kyle Centre.”
If council approves the conceptual design project, next steps would include public engagement later this year to determine programming needs followed by a final estimate of capital costs and financing options by the end of 2025, in advance of a report to council and subsequent public review early next year.
MARIO BARTEL 