Coopers Green Hall Project - Key Dates

In 2014, the SCRD began work on the Coopers Green Park Management Plan. This plan was released in 2016 and included, as one of the major recommendations, the replacement of Coopers Green Hall. Read the plan HERE. 

In late 2017 and early 2018, the SCRD began initial work through a dedicated community task force on the replacement of Coopers Green Hall. The hall is situated in Coopers Green Park in Halfmoon Bay. This work included engagement in the community where there was a strong desire for the hall to be replaced and for it to be located in Coopers Green Park. Initial work included a report from a geotechnical engineer which was supportive of the hall being located in the proposed location.

A construction budget of just under $3 million for a new hall was presented to the SCRD Board in 2018. This led to a grant application through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Programme for federal assistance to pay for the hall construction. At this point, the construction budget had not been approved by the Board and it was not part of the SCRD’s financial plan.

In July 2020, the SCRD received confirmation that a grant of $2,013,641 had been approved for the project. This, in addition to fundraising by the HBCA brought the total available budget to $2.4 million. At this point, an updated construction budget for the project was estimated at just over $3 million.

In early 2021, the SCRD re-engaged with the local community prior to bringing forward a budget request that would make up the projected budget shortfall of $528,378. This engagement reaffirmed the community’s desire for a hall at Coopers Green Park.  

In March 2021, the budget for construction was approved and funding for the project was included in the SCRD’s financial plan, which allowed the SCRD to begin more of the technical work involved in the design of the building.

In September 2021, with additional Board direction for the building to be net zero ready, the detailed design of the hall began. Part of this work included re-engaging a geotechnical engineer and other experts including land surveyors and archaeological experts.

At this point, with world events significantly impacting material costs the project was re-estimated at a cost of $4.5 million to complete. In May, 2022, the SCRD Board approved an additional budget up to $1.5 million to ensure the project could move ahead and further work could be done on design and technical assessments

In July, 2022 the SCRD received an update from the Geotechnical Engineer for the project. 

They indicated a number of changes to the design of the project would be recommended which would exceed previously understood design requirements. Specifically, updates to Oceanic Flood Hazard mitigation recommendations will require the elevation of the bottom of the interior floor to be raised approximately 1.5 metres above the current planned design. 

This is necessary to account for projected extreme weather events and sea level rise over the lifespan of the building. It is also anticipated that the building would have to be situated further back from the ocean than originally planned. 

The changes to accommodate the new guidance would include a significant redesign of the hall, along with additional construction costs which would consequently see an increase of the current project budget of $4.5 million. Several mature trees would also need to be removed to accommodate the recommended location of the building.