Major changes to Steveston Park are in the works, as the City of Richmond embarks on preliminary designs to build a new community centre and library that could include a residential apartment tower for seniors care.
Details of a partnership between Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) and the city are limited as the two sides appear to be negotiating land use and acquisition.
Coun. Harold Steves acknowledged at a committee meeting recently that there are discussions being had as to whether or not the existing site of the community centre could be densified to incorporate seniors care housing, such as residential and/or palliative care.
“I’d like to see the air space above the community centre used for seniors housing,” said Steves.
Steveston had been home to the seven-storey Lions Manor, a residential care facility just north of the park on Fentiman Place. The complex was demolished in 2014 and its residents were relocated to Bridgeport Road.
Steves said he has been floating the idea of densifying the community centre to create a “campus of care” for seniors in the Steveston area, noting there is already an assisted living facility and independent living facility nearby (Austin Harris and The Maple Residences, respectively) and many of the newer condos are popular among active boomers who have downsized their homes.
If VCH relocated to above a new community centre and library, it remains unclear what would happen to the existing Lions Manor site, which sits empty, save for a lease for a Rogers cell tower until next December.
VCH could sell the land with the city providing zoning for residential use. Or it could develop two sites for seniors care.
A spokesperson for VCH said the health authority could not comment on any plans.
Steveston Park will also soon see a new playground, which is in the planning stages, but has no timeline for completion. And to the north of the park, Steveston Buddhist Temple on Garry Street is planning to develop part of its property into congregate residential units.
With or without a residential tower on top of it, a new Steveston Community Centre, which will have a new library attached to it, will cost $40-54 million, according to a report from city planners.
The community centre/library is among five priority civic facilities that need to be built or updated by 2026. Among the others are (with estimated costs): City Centre Community Centre North ($1.3 million (largely paid for by development fees), the Lawn Bowling Clubhouse ($1-3.2 million), Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site and Phoenix Net Loft ($6.8-8.3 million) and a new Richmond Animal Shelter ($5-8 million).
In order to plan the new facilities, city council approved a $2 million purse for planners to dip into for preliminary designs.
The new facilities plan is not as ambitious as recent infrastructure upgrades. Since 2009 the city has built a new RCMP station, City Centre Community Centre and a suite of new fire halls. Presently, the new $80 million Minoru Complex (pools and seniors’ centre) is expected to be completed by the end of next year.
Many of the new facilities have had little to no tax impact, as the city has fetched $167.8 million, since 2004, as its share of gaming revenues from River Rock Casino and Resort. Roughly three quarters of that money has been tagged for infrastructure (including $50 million for the Richmond Olympic Oval). Over the next 10 years the city will pay off a $50 million loan for the Minoru Complex.
Richmond Ice Centre and Watermania are two facilities that have come up at council level as requiring replacement in the long term (beyond 2026).
* The print version of this article incorrectly classified The Maple Residences as an assisted living facility.
