Second Filipino community centre proposed for Vancouver

There are plans for another Filipino community centre in Vancouver—different from the one backed by Mayor Ken Sim and his ABC majority on council.

A local organization has announced plans for a Filipino community center and cultural hub in South Vancouver.

Standing at the proposed site Sunday, RJ Aquino, chair of Filipino BC, said the group has identified an approximately 100,000-square-foot facility at 396 SW Marine Dr. in South Vancouver.

“It’s been a long-standing effort and dream of the Filipino community to do this,” Aquino said.

Aquino added the project has garnered extensive community engagement, including more than 2,000 respondents from the organization’s “What We Heard Report,” which was published in February 2025.

The project will feature affordable housing, a museum, a basketball court, and other cultural and community-driven programing.

‘Serving the entire community’

According to Aquino, it was important to situate the centre in South Vancouver due to its growing Filipino population, and proximity to other neighborhoods.

“It’s been highlighted in various city reports that South Vancouver is missing cultural assets like this,” he said.

“And to be clear, it is a Filipino cultural and community center, but it is going to be serving the entire community.”

Filipino BC will be partnering with Hungerford Properties and the South Vancouver Neighbourhood House on the project.

Aquino said the plan has been years in the making with ongoing conversation with the developer, the city, province, and more recently the federal government—which announced funding for a new Filipino cultural and community centre in its 2025 budget.

“We wouldn’t be making the announcement if it wasn’t going to be real,” Aquino said.

He added renderings of the location will be shared in the near future.

For nearly four decades, the community has pushed for a cultural hub, those calls growing stronger following the devastating events on April 26, 2025, during the Lapu-Lapu Day Festival attack, which killed 11 people and injured dozens more.

“It’s quite an exciting milestone to achieve,” Aquino said.

Property in foreclosure

The announcement comes as Mayor Ken Sim and his ABC-majority have thrown their support behind a Filipino community centre proposed for East 4th Avenue and Main Street in East Vancouver.

In December, Sim and Coun. Lenny Zhou’s motion was approved to direct staff to prioritize a proposal for a centre that would include a hotel development.

The developer, Tobi Reyes, is currently at the centre of a legal battle at the site which has been in foreclosure proceedings since early 2021.

The East Vancouver plan has received a mix of support and criticism. Filipino BC has questioned it, citing a lack of community engagement and transparency.

Despite that, Aquino was clear the group does not oppose another cultural asset. In the next few months, Filipino BC will be submitting a formal rezoning application to the city.