Competing Filipino Cultural Centre project with affordable housing proposed for South Vancouver site next to Marine Drive SkyTrain station

New hotel project with Filipino Cultural Centre endorsed by Vancouver City Council

Opponents of proposed new Filipino Cultural Centre in Vancouver quietly pursuing their own competing Burnaby project

Vancouver's largest non-profit-led social housing project with over 900 units approved

Major mixed-use residential, commercial, and industrial expansion of Marine Gateway includes a rooftop public park

25-storey, mixed-use residential tower approved to fill big hole in an industrial area of Mount Pleasant in Vancouver

City of Vancouver staff outline regional hurdles to new housing on protected industrial lands

'Victims continue to suffer': Former Filipino BC directors ask where Lapu Lapu money went

Preliminary concepts for the FCCC at this South Vancouver site call for a facility that would include a museum and archives, an auditorium, seniors’ space, childcare, a multi-purpose sports court, an innovation and technology hub, and other cultural and community uses, including a new community food centre — in partnership with South Vancouver Neighbourhood House — to distribute food to individuals and families in need of assistance.

“Our partnership with Filipino BC spans nearly three years, and we have proudly supported their team and navigated the challenges and milestones of this shared journey together,” said Michael Hungerford, a partner at Hungerford Properties, in a statement today.

“Hungerford remains fully committed to this vision, anchoring a project from the ground up that is designed to be of lasting service to the community.”

Over the decades, there have previously been unsuccessful attempts to establish a permanent community and cultural hub for Metro Vancouver’s large Filipino population.

According to Filipino BC, its proposal and location are supported by two years of community consultation. The organization says the site is suitable due to South Vancouver’s large and growing Filipino population, as well as its proximity to SkyTrain and the major bus exchange.

“This project represents a generational investment in the community with the potential for transformative outcomes. We recognize that initiatives of this scale can shape lives for generations, which is why centring community voices at every step of the process has been essential,” said RJ Aquino, the chair of Filipino BC.

“This is just the beginning. It shows what’s possible when we come together and sets the path toward a future shaped by us, for us.”

The proponents note that they have “worked closely” with the City of Vancouver for more than two years and say their concept aligns with the provincial government’s transit-oriented development framework, Metro Vancouver Regional District’s Metro 2050 Regional Growth Strategy, and the City of Vancouver’s Vancouver Plan, which is expected to turn into the City’s Official Development Plan (ODP) later this winter.

Currently, the site is zoned for industrial use and is part of Metro Vancouver Regional District’s regionally protected industrial lands. However, these industrial uses are immediately adjacent to a growing cluster of high-density, mixed-use residential towers anchored around Marine Drive Station and Marine Gateway.

In 2021, the City enacted the Marine Landing Policy Updates to open up more sites near the public transit hub for new high-density residential uses — particularly rental housing and social housing — and enable a wider range of employment uses for select industrial sites, such as office space and more adaptable industrial space.

Last week, City Council approved the rezoning application by Soroptimist International of Vancouver, Kiwanis Club of Vancouver, and Purpose Driven Development to redevelop the aging low-rise social housing buildings at 8080 Yukon St. — a site immediately north of the Kia dealership — into a new social housing complex with four towers up to 32 storeys tall. The project will contain over 900 units, making it Vancouver’s largest social housing development spearheaded by a non-profit organization.

The Metro 2050 plan permits some residential uses above industrial uses on employment lands within 200 metres of a SkyTrain station. This enables PCI Developments’ proposed second phase of Marine Gateway, which would include major industrial and rental housing uses at 8530 Cambie St., immediately south of the station and bus exchange. However, the City’s draft ODP does not identify 396 Southwest Marine Dr. as an industrial site where some residential uses may be considered.

To enable any consideration of this proposal by Hungerford Properties and Filipino BC, significant industrial uses — similar to the original concept — would likely need to be incorporated into the concept alongside the FCCC and residential components.

In its now-cancelled, 2023-approved concept for 396 Southwest Marine Dr., Hungerford Properties had envisioned a 259 ft. tall, 19-storey west office tower and a 187 ft. tall, 11-storey east office tower atop a three-storey podium containing mainly light industrial space. The project would have included about 400,000 sq. ft. of office space for tech companies, institutions, and small- and medium-sized businesses, as well as 140,000 sq. ft. of creative/light industrial space, 29,000 sq. ft. of storefront industrial uses (such as breweries and distilleries), 10,000 sq. ft. of retail and restaurant space, and a childcare facility for up to 37 children. However, due to the prolonged weakness in the office space market, the project stalled.

Filipino BC notes a new rezoning application outlining the new proposal for the site is expected to be submitted to the municipal government in the coming months.

The provincial government has already expressed support in principle for the creation of a new provincial Filipino Cultural Centre, with its previous community consultation efforts summarized in a report released in July 2025. However, it has not indicated which project it will support and has not committed any specific funding, pending the submission of formal proposals and business cases by the various proponent teams.

In November 2025, the federal government’s 2025 budget specifically mentioned federal funding support for a new Filipino Community and Cultural Centre in Metro Vancouver, though the precise amount was not specified.

In December 2025, Vancouver City Council endorsed a member motion by Mayor Ken Sim to support local developer PortLiving and the non-profit organization Filipino Legacy Society’s proposal to redevelop the sites at 1940 Main St. and 143 East 3rd Ave. in Mount Pleasant — near SkyTrain’s future Mount Pleasant Station — into two 30-storey, mixed-use hotel towers. The Main Street tower would include a 60,000 sq. ft. Filipino community and cultural centre within its first six levels. The project would provide about 500 hotel rooms across both towers, with a portion of annual hotel revenues directed into an endowment fund to help support the centre’s ongoing operating, maintenance, and programming costs.

City staff have been directed to work with PortLiving and Filipino Legacy Society to expedite the review of upcoming rezoning and development permit applications, including collaborating with the proponents to resolve technical and design issues. A rezoning application for this mixed-use hotel and cultural centre is also expected to be submitted in the coming months.

City staff will also assist Filipino Legacy Society in securing a temporary cultural centre until the new purpose-built facility is completed.

The Pinoy Festival Alliance is also competing to have its proposal selected by the provincial and federal governments. This Burnaby-based non-profit organization opposed the Mount Pleasant project during City Council’s deliberations in December 2025, as it is hoping to advance its own proposal to purchase the former Firefighters Banquet & Conference Centre at 6515 Bonsor Ave. immediately east of Metropolis at Metrotown mall, and convert it into the provincial Filipino Cultural Centre. The three-storey building, constructed in 1989, contains 20,400 sq. ft. of banquet, conference, meeting, and restaurant space, and has legal rights to use some parking spaces at the mall. The property was acquired by the City of Burnaby in 2021.

Taken together, the three publicly known competing proposals speak to both the long-standing demand and the high stakes involved in finally delivering a permanent Filipino Community and Cultural Centre in Metro Vancouver. With at least three site options — each with different partners and funding pathways — potentially under consideration, the coming months could be pivotal as governments review the possible submission of formal applications and business cases, and as community groups move to turn their competing advocacy into a concrete purpose-built home.

Filipino BC is also the organizer of the Lapu Lapu Day Festival in April 2025, which ended in a deadly tragedy. The organization plans to hold the Lapu Lapu Day Festival again in April 2026, with the exact date expected to fall about one week before the one-year anniversary of the incident. More information about this year’s festival, including the location, is expected to be announced closer to the event.

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• New hotel project with Filipino Cultural Centre endorsed by Vancouver City Council
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• 25-storey, mixed-use residential tower approved to fill big hole in an industrial area of Mount Pleasant in Vancouver
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