Toronto City Council has voted to start work this year on the Wabash Community Centre at Sorauren Park.

The Friends of Sorauren Park recently concluded its “Unlock the Community Centre” awareness campaign, the latest in a long series of actions to advocate for the centre.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friends of Sorauren Park Rally Community Support to “Unlock” the proposed Wabash Community Centre

TORONTO, ON – February 13, 2017 – The Friends of Sorauren Park (FOSP), the non-profit organization dedicated to the completion and enjoyment of Sorauren Park, announced today the successful end of its Unlock the Community Centre campaign, launched in 2016, to rally community support around the City’s pledge to invest $34-million in building the Wabash Community Centre.

More than 2,000 residents and students from neighbourhood schools purchased keychains, decorated them and hung them on the fence next to the long-abandoned flaxseed factory – the proposed site for the new Wabash Community Centre. Local businesses including Scooter Girl toy store and Sunny Joes coffee shop supported the effort by making keychains available for purchase in-store.

“The Unlock the Community Centre keychain awareness campaign was inspired by the ‘Love Locks’ on the Pont des Art in Paris,” noted Joël Campbell, the Chair the FOSP Board. “We wanted to show a visual representation of community support and raise awareness. With thousands of keychains now on the fence, we are delighted with the results,” added Campbell.

The local community has been advocating and campaigning for the community centre since the early 1990s, and it has been a project on the City’s books for at least 17 years. During that time, FOSP has raised or leveraged approximately $750,000 for park development including the Fieldhouse and the park’s Town Square. The Wabash Community Centre is currently included in the City of Toronto’s proposed capital budget scheduled to be voted on by council at its upcoming Feb. 15-16 meeting.

“We are encouraged that we are in the proposed budget and that the development process is scheduled to begin later this year. With completion scheduled for 2022, one year earlier than expected, residents are very excited that the Wabash Community Centre is closer to reality,” said Campbell.

About Friends of Sorauren Park (FOSP)
The FOSP, formerly known as the Wabash Building Society, is an all-volunteer community non-profit dedicated to the completion and enjoyment of Sorauren Park. In partnership with Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation and many supporting organizations, the FOSP has been a key advocacy group successfully lobbying the government to fund the establishment of Sorauren Park, the building of the Fieldhouse and the Town Square. Through its continued community engagement, fundraising and awareness efforts, the FOSP was instrumental in convincing the City of Toronto to allocate $34-million from its capital budget for the construction of a new community centre slated to begin the design phase in 2017 and opening to residents in 2023. http://www.soraurenpark.com Twitter, Facebook and Instagram: @SoraurenPark
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Media Contact:
Friends of Sorauren Park (FOSP). Stephen Dorsey, Director    T. 647-938-5449    E. Stephen@dorseystudios.ca

If the proposed City budget passes in its current form, it would contain good news for the community: work on the Wabash Community Centre would officially begin later this year.

The Friends of Sorauren Park continue to monitor City Hall as this year’s budget moves through committee to an eventual vote at Council in mid February.

The 2017-2026 capital budget and plan for Parks, Forestry and Recreation includes a total of $32.4 million for pre-engineering, design and construction of the new facility that would be located on Wabash Avenue beside Sorauren Park.

Pre-engineering work would start this year, with $50,000 budgeted. Design would continue the following year, with another $400,000 budgeted. Design and construction would then continue until 2022.

In early January, Chander Chaddah, a volunteer board member of Friends of Sorauren Park since 2006, spoke to the budget committee during public consultations about the importance of the proposed centre to the community. He highlighted recent and upcoming growth in the neighbourhood, and the fact the Wabash Community Centre is the next centre to be built according the City’s 2004 plan for new recreation facilities. The community has been advocating for the centre since the early 1990s.

Not including the investment in Sorauren Park, the City has already invested $3 million in the Wabash site, including $2 million for land purchase in 2000 and a $1 million environmental clean-up in 2004.

Following this week’s budget committee, Ward 14 Councillor Gord Perks issued the following statement:

Friends,

The Councillor also provided this snapshot comparing the 2016 budget to the 2017 proposed budget: