Feds, province and city contribute more than $35M for new community centre in Scarborough

TORONTO -

All three levels of government will be contributing a combined $35.9 million to build a new community centre in Scarborough meant to meet the diverse needs of the neighbourhood.

The announcement was made Friday morning by federal, provincial and local officials at Scarborough-Rouge Park.

The new Tamil Community Centre will be a multi-purpose facility and will include a gym, outdoor playing fields, a new library, museum and auditorium. It will also have multi-purpose spaces for educational and cultural events.

“This is going to be a fantastic facility,” Deputy Prime Minister and Federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters. “It will have a large gym, outdoor playing fields where people can play soccer, baseball, maybe even some cricket. It will be a hub for Tamil music and dance.”

Gary Anandasangaree, MP for Scarborough—Rouge Park, spoke at the event and said that he looks forward to having a safe and inclusive space to facilitate community events.

“I want to underscore the significance of what this space means to the community, in the context of the numerous times we've been denied space, or have had to undergo hurdles to obtain space,” he said.

“My sincere hope is that the Tamil Community Centre will bring together all of these elements to support the language, nurture the culture, support the needs of the community and provide a safe and inclusive space to remember and reflect.”

The federal government will invest $13.3 million into the project, while the Ontario government is providing nearly $12 million.

“I’m a big proponent of community centres and I said that to our caucus right across the province, nothing pulls a community together more than a community centre,” Premier Doug Ford said. “It’s used for so many different things but one is called a gathering place, a place that people can come and bring their family and bring their friends and just get together.”

The City of Toronto has contributed land for the new centre, valued at about $25 million, in the form of a long-term land lease.

“The city will continue to own it but it will be released in perpetuity to the Tamil community for $1 a year, plus HST,” Mayor John Tory said.

“It is a way the city could contribute…we all wanted to be a part of this.”

The community centre will celebrate and acknowledge the Tamil community but will be accessible to everyone in the neighbourhood, Tory added.