Kyle Centre Redevelopment | City of Port Moody

Background

Kyle Centre, located at 125 Kyle Street, is an 11,000-square-foot community facility with activity and craft rooms, a lounge, and a hall that offers recreation programs, community activities, and rental opportunities for meetings or small-scale events. Built in 1977, it is an aging facility nearing its end of life that could only continue to be used in the long term if significant repairs were undertaken. Recreational needs and trends have changed over the years and, as Port Moody’s population grows and demographics evolve, it’s clear that a new, larger facility is needed in the Moody Centre neighbourhood.

Additional background information

The City has been exploring options for Kyle Centre for several years including through the recently updated Land Management Strategy Policy and the 2016 Kyle Centre Site Community Ideas Fair. In their 2023-2026 Strategic Plan, Council identified a goal to leverage public spaces with related objectives to determine strategic direction for existing and future civic facilities; determine direction for underutilized City lands; and enhance places where people naturally gather. The redevelopment of Kyle Centre and surrounding City-owned lands meets all three of these objectives. This also presents opportunities to coordinate with the adjacent Port Moody Arts Centre. Looking ahead to the potential redevelopment of this area, in fall 2024 the City strategically purchased two parcels of nearby land for the purpose of expanding Kyle Park. This purchase aligns with the Parkland Strategy (approved in June 2025), which notes that acquiring new parkland is a priority to meet future needs, ensure equitable access, and act before land becomes prohibitively expensive or scarce.

Most recently, in 2024, the City engaged with the community as part of its development of a Recreation Facilities Study. We shared the results of what we heard in an engagement summary presented to Council in January 2025. The Study, which is in the process of being finalized, will assist with future decision-making related to recreation facilities in Port Moody. Many respondents who participated in the Recreation Facilities Study engagement opportunities advocated for investment in Kyle Centre through renovation, expansion, or replacement.

Through spring 2025, Council and staff carefully considered Council's strategic priorities, past public engagement, potential uses for City-owned land around Kyle Centre, and the full range of past planning work for this area. This consideration has led to the understanding that now is the time to take steps to move forward and develop a plan for a replacement for Kyle Centre, a new and expanded Kyle Park, and a community plaza.

Project scope

The recommended site (see image below) is the general location of the existing Kyle Centre building, within the boundaries of St. Andrews, Kyle, St. George, and Queens streets, and includes two recently purchased lots to the east. The new community centre would be located as far west as possible on the site, while still allowing for potential future affordable housing to be built at the west end of these City-owned lands. Should work on potential future housing be approved at a later time, that would be considered under a separate project.

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We originally proposed a 30,000-square-foot building to replace the existing 11,000-square-foot facility. After hearing from the community and Kyle Centre user groups during Round 1 public engagement, and after further consideration of the impacts of future growth, we are proposing a 39,000-square-foot building to better meet the needs of current users and Port Moody’s growing population over the next 25 years.

Project timeline and phases

At the July 15, 2025 Strategic Priorities Committee Meeting (agenda item 4.3), Council approved a capital project for the conceptual design of a proposed new community centre, which, pending future funding, would replace the existing Kyle Centre, as well as a new plaza and expanded Kyle Park.

A conceptual design communicates a project’s overall layout, direction, and big ideas, and identifies what spaces are needed for different programs and activities. It also shows how different elements – in this case, the community centre, plaza, and park – are connected.

The conceptual design stage allows staff to determine a more accurate estimation of construction costs so that a funding strategy can be developed. Funding for the $515,000 conceptual design came from the City’s Community Amenity Contribution Reserve.

Pending Council approval and future funding, the project is expected to proceed through three additional phases: detailed design, construction of the community centre and plaza, and construction of the expanded park. Find information for each phase below.

Phase 1 (in progress) – conceptual design

This phase included two rounds of public engagement (archived engagement project page is available at engage.portmoody.ca)
Round 1 public engagement (September/October 2025): we collected input to inform decision-making on the functional program, i.e. the types of spaces to be included in the proposed community centre, and how those spaces would be used – find out what we heard (January 2026)
Development of functional program and recommended conceptual design
Round 2 public engagement (June 2026): we collected general feedback on the recommended conceptual design – find out what we heard (July 2026)
Council consideration of recommended conceptual design (timing to be determined)
Site planning and cost estimation for remaining phases (timing to be determined)

*Pending Council approval of subsequent phases and future funding:

Phase 2* – Detailed design of the project site (timing to be determined); refinement of capital cost estimates; Council consideration of recommended funding strategy; review options to provide continuity of service during construction

Phase 3* – Construction of community centre and plaza (timing to be determined)

Phase 4* – Construction of new/expanded Kyle Park (timing to be determined)

Additional project information

Project budget and funding strategy

What will it cost?

It is too early in the project to provide a realistic cost estimate. This is due to a variety of factors such as inflation, rising construction costs associated with supplies, equipment, labour, and unique site conditions. A recommended funding strategy will be brought forward for Council’s consideration in Phase 2 (detailed design), when construction costs can be more accurately estimated.

How will it be funded?

Construction is expected to be funded through a combination of City reserves, Amenity Cost Charges (ACC), Development Cost Charges (DCCs), and borrowing. At the end of Phase 2, Council will consider a proposed funding strategy. If approved, the project will proceed to construction, and a future property tax increase will be required to support borrowing costs. The City will look at phasing this in over time to minimize the annual financial impact on residents.

What about operating costs?

Running a new larger facility with additional programming will increase annual operating costs. A property tax increase will be needed to cover this, which could also be phased in once the facility is open to the public to reduce the initial impact on taxpayers.

Planning for the future

The proposed facility is 39,000 square feet. While a smaller building would cost less upfront, building a larger facility now meets the needs of our growing community and avoids significantly higher, more costly expansions down the road.

Past planning and engagement

The City has been exploring options for Kyle Centre for several years. Please see the resources below to learn about past planning and public engagement.

Parkland Strategy (2025): Port Moody’s Parkland Strategy (PDF) provides a long-term framework to guide the planning, acquisition, enhancement, and connectivity of parkland through 2050. The Strategy includes a vision and guiding principles, a comprehensive assessment of parkland services, neighbourhood overviews, and city-wide strategies that will help the City meet the needs of current and future residents.
Recreation Facilities Study Public Engagement Summary (2025): agenda item 7.2, Regular Council Meeting, January 28, 2025. The Recreation Facilities Study, currently underway, will provide an assessment of the current state of recreation facilities in Port Moody, community needs, trends, and options for future recreation facilities. The public engagement provided important input into the identification of facility needs, viability options, long-term priorities for recreation and related infrastructure and services, and other related considerations.
Land Management Strategy (2024): The Land Management Strategy Policy provides a framework to guide major land decisions to effectively manage City lands and optimize land value to ensure long-term financial sustainability.
Age-Friendly Recreation Study (2022): Port Moody’s Age-Friendly Recreation Study (PDF) reviewed current and future needs and desires of the community, and assessed the potential for an age-friendly recreation centre through site analysis, programming identification and concept designs. It explored the options of such a recreation centre as a standalone facility and as an addition to the Recreation Complex.
Building Envelope Condition Assessment (2020): A Building Envelope Condition Assessment (PDF) was completed to evaluate the present condition of the various building envelope systems and outline recommendations for the long-term, continued operation of the building.
Kyle Centre Site Community Ideas Fair (2016): Recognizing that Kyle Centre would be approaching the end of its useful life, the Kyle Centre Community Ideas Fair (PDF) provided an engagement opportunity to explore the community’s future needs for Kyle Centre, along with the surrounding City-owned lands, to provide expanded community benefits.
Parks and Recreation Master Plan (2015): The Parks and Recreation Master Plan (PDF) provides a 10-year framework to guide the acquisition and development of parks and open spaces, recreation facilities and the delivery of services to best meet the needs of the community.
Long Range Facilities Plan (2013): RDH Building Engineering Ltd. prepared a Long-Range Facilities Plan (PDF) for the base building components at 21 facilities, including Kyle Centre.