Urban One Builders has been selected as the construction manager to build the new Jewish Community Centre (JCC) HUB on West 41st Avenue and Oak Street in Vancouver’s Oakridge neighbourhood.
The project will comprise a new community centre, a new King David High School (KDHS) and two residential towers.
Allan Beron, president of Urban One, said in a statement, “We are truly honoured to have been selected for this project. Being entrusted with the construction of the JCC is especially meaningful, as it represents not only a landmark building, but more importantly the next phase of growth and vitality for the Jewish community.”
To oversee the redevelopment of the current JCC, the JWest Foundation was created.
“The foundation represents the community and will become the landowners,” says Alex Cristall, chair of the JWest Foundation.
“It is a community project, led by the community, for the community, the size and scale of which has not been undertaken by any other non-profit group in the city.”
The first phase of the project is the construction of the new community centre and the high school
WWW.SHAPEYOURCITY.CA — Urban One Builders has been selected as the construction manager to build the new Jewish Community Centre HUB on West 41st Avenue and Oak Street in Vancouver’s Oakridge neighbourhood. The project will comprise a new community centre, a new King David High School and two residential towers.
Phase one will replace the existing JCC with a new eight-storey complex that features recreation, fitness and aquatics; a performance theatre, art gallery, library and Holocaust education centre; a child care centre; facilities for pre-teens, teens and seniors; as well as offices for community organizations, food services and administration.
The second phase zoning application is for the construction of two residential towers, 39 and 37 storeys high. Plans are for 630 rental housing units, 10 per cent of which will go for less than market rate.
“We are working towards a construction starting date of July 2026 and anticipate that the JCC and the high school will take approximately five to six years to complete,” says Cristall.
The two buildings will be built in succession, with the new JCC to be constructed first on the current parking lot, followed by the demolition of the current community centre, which will make room for the new high school.
“This allows the current JCC to be operational during construction, providing critical seniors care and early childhood education,” says Cristall. “Throughout that construction period we will be determining the starting date of residential tower construction.”
Vancouver’s Acton Ostry Architects is the architect on the project.
Mark Ostry, a principal with the firm, says the new JCC will have some one-of-a-kind features.
“A seven-storey, vertically stacked community centre – with one-storey below grade – is unique,” says Ostry. “Typically, community centres are one to two storeys in height.”
Another unique feature of the new JCC is a state-of-the-art multi-purpose space.
“The new space will support live-stage theatre, cinema and general auditorium functions, converting to other uses with retractable telescoping seating,” says Ostry.
Alvin Wasserman, the JCC representative on the JWest board, says the centre was built in 1961, at the same time as the surrounding Oakridge neighbourhood was being developed.
The facility is turning 65 this year and is beginning to show its age.
“Everything gets old, including the JCC,” says Wasserman. “The building’s equipment is old and antiquated. For example, the building is heated by two furnaces. The manufacturer has been out of business for 30 years. The whole HVAC system is patchwork. Fortunately, we have a great maintenance crew.”
Wasserman says the project has not been without its challenges.
“If it takes a village to raise a child, you should see what it takes to build a community centre,” he says.
“The JCC is a non-profit, so we can’t finance the project in the regular way. We have no revenues or profits to show the bank. We’re financed by the community.”
Wasserman says the JCC is good at running a community centre but they’re not experts at raising money.
“We had to enlist the assistance of community partners and we formed JWest,” he says.
It took time to work out a deal.
“Costs ballooned over time,” says Wasserman. “We had to bring in the federal and provincial governments to help us out. All together it took over a decade to get it done.”
David Porte, co-chair of JWest Development Corp., says the new JCC “will be a beautiful building and a fantastic addition to the Oakridge area, bringing a public community centre to a growing area.
“The JCC is being funded largely through private donations,” adds Porte. “It will be part of a larger community development that is being designed to be financially self-sufficient.”
In addition, the project has received grants of $25 million each from the B.C. and federal governments.