A new YMCA recreation hub for west Coquitlam is closer to reality after city council this week officially inked a deal with the non-profit group.
But while the scope, budget and operational details have now been worked out in an agreement-in-principal with the municipality, the location of the new community centre is still up in the air.
Steve Butz, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Vancouver, told The Tri-City News after Monday's council meeting that his organization - as well as the city - have brought on a real-estate consultant to help figure out where it could open in Burquitlam.
Ideally, Butz said, the YMCA would like to see its new $40-million centre around the Evergreen Line station, near Como Lake Avenue and Clarke Road.
"Burquitlam is an area we know that [the city] is trying to address," Butz said, "and we hope to service the needs of Coquitlam and of this community very soon."
The target is to have it ready by 2018 - two years after the rapid-transit line opens, said Raul Allueva, Coquitlam's general manager of parks, recreation and culture, in a report to council.
The partnership between the city and the YMCA calls for public consultation on the design and vision of the centre before the shovel goes in the ground; however, Butz noted the facility will be similar to other YMCA centres in the Lower Mainland - that is, offering an indoor pool, universal change rooms, common areas, a gym, fitness areas, childminding services and a resource centre in a building up to 60,000 sq. ft.
Capital funding will be split between the city and the YMCA with the latter taking charge of all operational costs.
Asked about users who can't afford a YMCA annual membership to access its programs and services, Butz stressed assistance will be available. "No one is ever going to be turned away," he stressed.
Burquitlam-Lougheed has the city's largest concentration of renters and new Canadians. As well, the YWCA has a facility for single, low-income women and their children on Como Lake Avenue and it has plans to expand its accommodations nearby.
The announcement with the YMCA comes as the city updates its Burquitlam-Lougheed Neighbourhood Plan, a blueprint for growth that will see 14,000 more residents over the next 25 years.
Last Saturday, some 275 people attended an open house to review the city's plans that includes massive density concentrated around the two Evergreen Line stations.
Meanwhile, the city will host another community information session on Wednesday, Feb. 4 from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Executive Plaza Hotel (Room A, 405 North Rd., Coquitlam). For residents unable to attend the drop-in session, an online survey is available at coquitlam.ca/blnp to give feedback.
@jwarrenTC
