Harry Jerome Community Recreation Centre

A Long-Term Investment in Health, Connection, and City Life.

If you’ve lived in the City of North Vancouver for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard about the Harry Jerome Rec Centre project. It’s big. It’s visible. And it’s the kind of public infrastructure decision that will shape everyday life for decades.

Here’s a clear update and why it matters.

Opening timeline

The new Harry Jerome Community Recreation Centre at Lonsdale and East 23rd is expected to open in July 2026. The existing rec centre opened in 1966, and it has served generations of residents. But with a growing population and changing recreation needs, the case for a next-generation facility is pretty clear.

Rec centres are not a “nice to have.” They are daily-life infrastructure. Places where people move, gather, and connect across ages, incomes, and backgrounds. If you care about health and community, you end up caring about facilities like this.

What’s different about the new facility

One of the most interesting parts of the project is the emphasis on sustainability and energy performance. The new facility is designed to reduce environmental impact with features such as:

• CO₂ refrigeration heat recovery systems

• A highly insulated building envelope

• Natural daylight and passive solar design

• Rainwater reuse systems

• Low-energy pool filtration

• Electric vehicle charging

The project is targeting over 50 percent energy savings compared to standard building code benchmarks. That kind of performance matters because it reduces operating costs over time, and helps align public infrastructure with climate commitments.

How it’s being funded

The total project budget is $230M, financed through multiple sources including the amenity levy, community amenity contributions and density sales, city reserves and development cost charges, land disposition from the Harry Jerome neighbourhood lands, and a $109M Municipal Finance Authority loan intended to be repaid through future land proceeds.

What’s next

The City is planning tours and “try it” classes and events in July and August after opening. These kinds of moments matter. A rec centre doesn’t become a community anchor just because it opens. It becomes one when people feel invited into it and start using it.

If you want more information and updates, the project site is hjcrc.ca.