A possible site has been chosen for a Somali Community Centre pending funding from the City and other levels of government.
Plans by the City to build a Somali Centre for Culture and Recreation in the Etobicoke area is moving ahead.
A proposed or pending acquisition or sale of land by the City of Toronto for the Centre has been recommended by City staff.
The Board of Directors of CreateTO in a February 16 letter is asking City Council to consider a request to both the Ontario and federal governments to provide financial support for the project.
The City’s intends to negotiate a long-term lease for the Somali centre once an appropriate city site has been selected, and pending provincial and federal government funding.
Etobicoke has the largest community of Somalis living in Toronto.
City Council request its staff and the Somali Centre to explore viable sites and funding sources for the community centre as part of a plan to develop affordable housing in the northwest corner of the City.
The Somali Centre for Culture and Recreation is a non-profit organization led by a group of Somali Canadian young professionals from across Ontario aiming to create a cultural recreation and community space for Somalis in Toronto.
“There has been a 40-year effort from the Somali community to develop a culture and recreation centre in Toronto to address the needs of this under-served community,” according to a City report.
It said since the 1970s the community has been working with local leaders and politicians to advocate for this type of facility.
There are about 80,000 Somalis living in Canada, with the most settling in Toronto.
“The main goal of this centre is to create a central space for the Somali community to gather and receive culturally appropriate community services from non-profit service providers and agencies.”
Ward 3 Councillor Amber Morley in a letter of support said there is a recommended site that is suitable and desirable for both a Somali centre and mixed-use residential development.
“It is fundamental that we support our diverse communities across Toronto to ensure they have access to livable and complete communities,” Morley wrote. “This proposal will deliver an important place of belonging for the Somali community.”
She said it will serve as a catalyst for long overdue investments in social infrastructure for diverse Black communities.
Members of the Somali community have been lobbying for 40 years for a community cultural centre.
“By leveraging City-owned parcels of land, the Somali Centre will contribute to addressing our City’s urgent need for more housing through a mixed-use residential development,” she said.
Morley said the plan recommends a centre with cultural spaces, childcare, gymnasium, aquatic facility, and multi-purpose rooms.
“The proposed community centre will be an important amenity that addresses significant existing gaps and responds to the more than four decades of advocacy by the Somali community in Toronto.”
There are an estimated 80,000 Somalis living in Canada with most settling in Toronto in five Etobicoke neighbourhoods, including Mount Olive-Silverstone-Jamestown, Islington-City Centre West, Elms-Old Rexdale, and Willowridge-Martingrove-Richview.