City of Winnipeg awards renovation grants to 9 community centres
Over $700,000 in funding handed out by city
The Lord Roberts Community Centre — home of the Terriers — is important to the sense of place and pride in a growing Winnipeg neighbourhood.
That's why funding from the City of Winnipeg is so important.
The City of Winnipeg awarded more than $700,000 in capital infrastructure funding to nine city-owned community centres Thursday morning through the Community Centre Renovation Grant Program, with Lord Roberts among them.
"We're really excited. We can use this grant to enhance the diverse and affordable recreational opportunities that we already offer, and also make investments in safety and operational efficiency," Lord Roberts board member Sean Madden told reporters at Lord Roberts, which is part of the South Osborne area.
The goal is to restore the heart of the Lord Roberts neighbourhood, to make it "safe, welcoming and sustainable for all to enjoy," Madden said.
Lord Roberts plans to restore full function of the outdoor hockey rink in an attempt to relieve the significant demand for outdoor ice in South Osborne.
The community centre also intends to upgrade lighting inside and outside the building to address safety concerns and increase energy efficiency with low-maintenance, high-efficiency LED bulbs.
The siding on the centre's outbuildings needs repairing, so the club will also do patching and painting to give the building "the shine that it deserves" and demonstrate to its neighbours that the board is invested in the facility, Madden said.
Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman pointed to an election pledge to more than double the city's funding for the grant from $965,000 to $2 million annually.
That pledge underscores the importance of the city's community centres, he said.
"Over the course of the last 20 months, the global pandemic has really underscored just how important and valuable community centres are for our physical and mental well-being, as well as for the well-being of our community," Bowman said.
"As our population grows, and as the need grows for new recreation and community centre facilities, the Community Centre Renovation Grant Program ensures that upgrades are possible to support our existing community centre assets across Winnipeg."
Along with Lord Roberts, Morse Place, Norberry Glenlee, Red River, Robert A. Steen, Tuxedo, Valour, Varsity View and Whyte Ridge community centres will receive grants.
Fourteen applications requesting a total of $1,119.389.93 were received by the grant program during this period. The nine applications that were approved totalled $702,192.39.
Coun. Sherri Rollins, the chairperson of the standing committee on protection, community services and parks, said the city is investing "meaningful dollars for modernizations and renovations."
The success of community centres would not be possible without thousands of community volunteers, like Madden, especially during the pandemic, she said.
"The sheer volume of volunteers we have in this city is nothing short of inspirational. I'm pleased to see so many people working to ensure our community centres receive the funding they need to update their facilities and benefit all the people who use them," Rollins said.
The program allows city-owned, board-run community centres to get financial help for completing facility repairs, upgrades, retrofits, safety improvements and renovation projects.
The program has two intake periods each year — a spring intake in March and a fall intake in October. Fall 2021 was the 20th application period for the program.
Since the program's inception in 2012, the city has given $11,912,797.43 to 235 community centres for renovations across Winnipeg.