WEST END COMMUNITY HUB RENEWAL DEFERRAL FALLOUT
Earthquake Highlights Need For Seismically Safe New High School

by John Streit
(click images to enlarge)

**WE COMMUNITY HUB RENEWAL PLAN 3D MODEL** *(HCMA ARCHITECTURE PHOTO)*

The powerful 4.7 magnitude earthquake near Sechelt — which rocked the South Coast on February 21 at 1:26 p.m. — was very much felt in the West End, and serves as a stark warning about the seismic safety of King George Secondary School, one of our neighbourhood’s most important, but aging, public buildings.

According to the Vancouver School Board, the main classroom block of the 1963-built school is categorized as an H1 high seismic risk – at the highest risk of widespread damage or structural failure during a major earthquake. If the “big one” did hit on a Monday morning during the school semester, KG would be packed with students, teachers and other staff. More than 600 students are currently enrolled, with the school operating at 169 per cent capacity utilization. Nominal capacity is 375.

A brand-new secondary school constructed to current seismic building codes is part of the West End Community Hub Renewal Plan (WECH), a massive, multi-government redevelopment that also envisions a new community centre, library, ice rink and firehall – all on the same property between Denman, Barclay and Haro Streets.

But many in the neighbourhood fear this multi-million-dollar infrastructure boost has been kicked far down the budgetary road.

***PREFERRED WECH PLAN (CITY OF VANCOUVER GRAPHIC)***

“I don’t think anything went wrong, there’s just not enough money,” Linda Johnston said.

Johnston is the first vice-president and former president of the West End Community Centre, which runs programming (everything from arts, wellness and education to fitness, preschool and summer camps,) at the West End and Coal Harbour community centres.

“We do programs for moms and tots all the way to seniors. The Park Board owns the building, including the rink, [and] we run almost everything that’s in it. The contractors running classes report to us. When the ice isn’t in, it’s run by the community centre. The fitness centre is run by the Park Board except for spinning classes, which are run by the association. If you wanted to design the most complicated way of doing something, you couldn’t get any better than community centres,” Johnston joked.

The community centre is more than 45 years old and showing its age, Johnston laments. “The Park Board must do some major upgrades to the underground parkade. It’s not safe. The wiring in the building is problematic. We just had to do some major rewiring in the pottery studio. The thing that’s most frustrating is that none of our meeting rooms have tech. They don’t even have phone jacks in them. So, when we need to have a meeting, we can bring someone in on someone’s cell phone, but we don’t have a proper speakerphone. Obviously, we’re not doing Zoom either. That’s also an issue for some of our programming. If you’re taking graphic design, you need to plug into stuff,” she said.

While a major upgrade has been made to the fitness centre, Johnston said the biggest issue is size. “There’s just not enough space. Not enough rooms. Look at the population change in the West End. It’s unbelievable. Just like people in London, Paris and New York, they’ve learned they could live in an apartment with a child. That never used to happen,” she said.

So, what is the status of the WECH? If you check the ‘Project Timeline’ on the ‘City’s Shape Your City’ page, it starts with ‘planning’ in the Winter of 2021 and ends with ‘renewal plan for the future community hub’ in Spring 2024. No construction start date has been set.

The City of Vancouver tells The West End Journal (TWEJ) the plan was endorsed by the West End Community Centre Association in November of 2023, and by Vancouver City Council, Park Board and the Vancouver Public Library Board in early 2024. “Funding is required to move the project forward, and work to secure this funding continues. Construction will not start until funding is secured from all partners and construction will need to be phased over multiple capital plans (based on funding and renewal priorities). Once funding is secured, project partners will communicate next steps and opportunities for the community to get involved in further shaping the future facilities,” according to the City.

Park Board Commissioner Tom Digby says it’s sad there is no funding in the 2025 City budget for the project. “The master plan is in place, but detailed design is deferred to the 2027-30 Capital Plan. The Park Board wants to progress contingent on Vancouver School Board and provincial funding for King George Secondary – not yet in the cards,” he told TWEJ.

City staff believe things are still on track. “The endorsement of the West End Community Hub renewal Plan in February 2024 achieves one of the ten-year policies set out in the 2013 West End Community Plan to work with project partners to develop a renewal and expansion strategy for this site. The 2013 West End Community Plan also included the goal to renew the on-site facilities within 30 years,” according to the City of Vancouver.

The Vancouver School Board maintains a replacement for King George (the smallest high school in the district) is a priority. “King George was identified as a year one priority seismic mitigation and expansion project request in our 2025-2026 Five Year Major Capital Plan. This plan was submitted to the provincial government for funding consideration in June 2024. The provincial government has not yet indicated if this project will be supported and funded.”

For Linda Johnson at the WECCA, the long consultation process leading up to her association’s endorsement of the renewal plan was good but very hard at the same time. “All the City, Park Board, Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services and Vancouver School Board people were getting paid. We are all volunteers. Often, we had two to three two-hour conference calls a month. I think they did around 14 two-hour sessions with the community. We had people at all of them. I did most of them. The City pays for the building but everything inside we pay for. The tables, chairs, basketballs – all the rest of that. So, we were full partners. You’d think with this arrangement being around for decades the City would understand that, but they had to be told the West End Community Centre Association was a full partner. What was astonishing was how many people at the City were never in a community centre,” she said.

The West End Journal asked Johnson what the WECCA was looking for in a new community centre.

“We agreed that we needed double the space we have now. That’s what was promised. We knew a new community centre would be spread over two or three floors instead of horizontal, as it is now. In contemporary design, you put the kids on the second or third floor for safety and security reasons. We wanted accessibility. We wanted a tech room for visual arts and design. We have the last publicly accessible dark room in the City of Vancouver and we insisted it had to be in the new building, as artists still use film. It’s run by a dark room group with around 60 members. We just installed a new sink so two people can use it at a time,” she says.

Johnson’s reaction to the entire project being deferred for several more years?

“Any of us with half a brain realized right from the beginning that the linchpin of it was a new school. And if the school didn’t get funding, then nothing else was going to happen. If you live here, look at the portables in Surrey. Look at the issues the BC Ministry of Education is facing with schools. Look how long it took the one in Olympic Village to be approved. Look at the new Coal Harbour school under construction and delayed.

**underground parking at the west end community centre is closed due to safety issues.** *(John Streit Photo)*

“We all hoped the West End Community Hub Renewal project would go, especially with King George Secondary School over capacity and so many students not being able to attend classes in their own neighbourhood, that that might be some pressure, but when you look at the school issues across the province, the ultimate funding decision is provincial, not the Vancouver School Board’s to make,” she explained.

If the “big one” were to hit, West End residents would be frantically calling 911 for the help of Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services to put out fires and pull people from the rubble. The WECH also calls for a replacement of Firehall No.6, on Nelson and Nicola.

Built in 1907, it’s a heritage-listed brick building that’s far too small for large ladder trucks needed in our neighbourhood. According to a City/VFRS report, “most growth in emergency incidents has occurred downtown and long-term strategic recommendations include planning new firehall locations and expanding downtown capacity to overcome challenges such as a densely populated West End with an abundance of high-rise buildings.”

We asked City Hall if it was concerned about rising costs by not moving ahead with the West End Community Hub Renewal plan quicker.

“The renewal plan allows for phased implementation, which provides flexibility to adjust to funding availability and economic conditions. The City is actively exploring funding opportunities, including support from senior government partners, to offset overall project costs amid industry-wide construction inflation,” the City says in an email response to TWEJ.

**WECH COMMUNITY CONSULtATION WORK** *(COV IMAGE)*

The City adds that additional community input will be sought during future phases and will build on the vision outlined in the plan.

A large team has been working on the project including a 10-person steering committee, dozens of high-level staff from the City, Park Board and Library along with referral staff from the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, and architecture firm hcma. TWEJ asked what happens to this team as it awaits funding? “City staff and project partners will continue working to secure funding and advance implementation. Once funding is secured, the project team will coordinate the next steps, including detailed design and construction planning. The City's commitment to delivering the renewal remains firm, and staff will ensure ongoing communication with the community as the project moves forward,” the COV replied.

So is Linda Johnson hopeful this project will move forward?

“I don’t think any of it will happen in my lifetime. It took two years for the City to install a new sink in the dark room. It took five months for the wiring to be done in the pottery studio. The West End Community Centre is not priority number one for the City, which has taken over maintenance of Park Board facilities.”

West Ender John Streit has been a B.C. radio, TV and online journalist
for more than 20 years. You can listen to John anchor
Global News on 730/CKNW weekdays from 5:30 a.m to 11 a.m.