Replacing the Ambleside Youth Centre


Thank you to everyone that completed the survey!

Thank you to all the youth, their families, service providers, and West Vancouver residents that completed the survey. Your input on options for a permanent youth space will help inform Council’s decision.

The survey closed on Friday, November 26, 2021, at 4 p.m.

Learn about the options for a permanent youth space

Over the years, the District has offered many important support and recreation services for youth. Dedicated spaces have been set aside in the community, including the Ambleside Youth Centre, the Bay Scene at the Gleneagles Community Centre, the Youth Lounge at the West Vancouver Community Centre, and Room 14 at the West Vancouver Memorial Library.

The Ambleside Youth Centre was the primary dedicated youth space, and it closed in early 2019 after the roof failed. In March that same year, the building was destroyed by fire.

Finding a new home for these important youth services has been a priority for Council. In early 2020 the District signed a lease with Park Royal Shopping Centre to provide a temporary home for a youth centre, until a permanent solution could be found.

The site of the former Ambleside Youth Centre remains vacant, and the temporary youth centre has been operating out of leased space at Park Royal since July 2020.

Council direction

In April 2021, Council directed staff to prepare two detailed business plans—including estimated capital, maintenance, and operating costs—based on two options:

  1. a new permanent facility to resume providing youth services out of a District facility at the location of the former Ambleside Youth Centre
  2. to continue providing youth services an existing third-party space (i.e. in Park Royal Shopping Centre) through a long-term lease agreement

In order to make the decision to find a permanent home for West Vancouver’s youth centre, Council wishes to fully understand the costs and benefits of each of the two options being considered. Having the right space and configuration for youth as well as service providers needs to be considered along with costs.

Option 1 – Park Royal Mall:

Under this option, the District would seek a long-term lease for space at the mall. The current Youth HUB is in a temporary leased space that does not provide the District security to remain at that location. If Council determined that a leased space was the best option for the Youth HUB, a long-term lease would be required to secure a location for a longer period of time.

Key considerations of the Park Royal option are:

  • Very accessible by public transit, biking, walking and personal vehicles.
  • Ample parking for pick-up and drop-offs, staff, and partnering community providers.
  • Well-recognizable destination with a high volume of foot traffic.
  • It is unlikely this option would include outdoor space.
  • There is potential risk that the leased space would not be available to the District following lease expiry.

Note: No specific space within the mall has been identified at this stage of the study

Option 2 - Site of the Former Ambleside Youth Centre:

For this option, the District would construct a new District-owned youth facility in Ambleside Park. Key considerations for a new Ambleside Youth Centre are:

  • Very accessible by public transit, biking, walking and by personal vehicles.
  • Well-recognizable destination within the community.
  • Home to the previous Ambleside Youth Centre, which was well regarded by youth and the community.
  • Ability to include outdoor spaces.
  • Ambleside Park is at risk of sea-level rise flooding at its current elevation under the year 2100 flood scenario. The current elevation of the site is ~3m above sea-level and a recent study indicated the minimum construction flood level should be ~5m. While this adds project complexity, it can be accommodated.


Thank you to everyone that completed the survey!

Thank you to all the youth, their families, service providers, and West Vancouver residents that completed the survey. Your input on options for a permanent youth space will help inform Council’s decision.

The survey closed on Friday, November 26, 2021, at 4 p.m.

Learn about the options for a permanent youth space

Over the years, the District has offered many important support and recreation services for youth. Dedicated spaces have been set aside in the community, including the Ambleside Youth Centre, the Bay Scene at the Gleneagles Community Centre, the Youth Lounge at the West Vancouver Community Centre, and Room 14 at the West Vancouver Memorial Library.

The Ambleside Youth Centre was the primary dedicated youth space, and it closed in early 2019 after the roof failed. In March that same year, the building was destroyed by fire.

Finding a new home for these important youth services has been a priority for Council. In early 2020 the District signed a lease with Park Royal Shopping Centre to provide a temporary home for a youth centre, until a permanent solution could be found.

The site of the former Ambleside Youth Centre remains vacant, and the temporary youth centre has been operating out of leased space at Park Royal since July 2020.

Council direction

In April 2021, Council directed staff to prepare two detailed business plans—including estimated capital, maintenance, and operating costs—based on two options:

  1. a new permanent facility to resume providing youth services out of a District facility at the location of the former Ambleside Youth Centre
  2. to continue providing youth services an existing third-party space (i.e. in Park Royal Shopping Centre) through a long-term lease agreement

In order to make the decision to find a permanent home for West Vancouver’s youth centre, Council wishes to fully understand the costs and benefits of each of the two options being considered. Having the right space and configuration for youth as well as service providers needs to be considered along with costs.

Option 1 – Park Royal Mall:

Under this option, the District would seek a long-term lease for space at the mall. The current Youth HUB is in a temporary leased space that does not provide the District security to remain at that location. If Council determined that a leased space was the best option for the Youth HUB, a long-term lease would be required to secure a location for a longer period of time.

Key considerations of the Park Royal option are:

  • Very accessible by public transit, biking, walking and personal vehicles.
  • Ample parking for pick-up and drop-offs, staff, and partnering community providers.
  • Well-recognizable destination with a high volume of foot traffic.
  • It is unlikely this option would include outdoor space.
  • There is potential risk that the leased space would not be available to the District following lease expiry.

Note: No specific space within the mall has been identified at this stage of the study

Option 2 - Site of the Former Ambleside Youth Centre:

For this option, the District would construct a new District-owned youth facility in Ambleside Park. Key considerations for a new Ambleside Youth Centre are:

  • Very accessible by public transit, biking, walking and by personal vehicles.
  • Well-recognizable destination within the community.
  • Home to the previous Ambleside Youth Centre, which was well regarded by youth and the community.
  • Ability to include outdoor spaces.
  • Ambleside Park is at risk of sea-level rise flooding at its current elevation under the year 2100 flood scenario. The current elevation of the site is ~3m above sea-level and a recent study indicated the minimum construction flood level should be ~5m. While this adds project complexity, it can be accommodated.
Page last updated: 26 Nov 2021, 04:03 PM