City to lease three-acre site for use as Somali Community and Cultural Centre in central Etobicoke.
The City after years has found a three-acre piece of land in Etobicoke to build a Somali Centre for Culture and Recreation (SCCR).
The City’s real estate arm is proposing that Council lease out City-owned land at 30 Mulham Place, in the Royal York Road and Eglinton Avenue West area, to the SCCR.
The property, known as Buttonwood Park, would be leased to the non-profit agency for a 21-year period, according to a report by the Corporate Real Estate Management.
The City-owned land in the Royal York Road and Eglinton Avenue West area will be leased for 20 years for about $5 million.
The property features an outdoor artificial ice rink, which operates as tennis courts in the summer, a children’s playground, large open green space and mature trees, according to City staff.
“The Somali community has been working for decades to identify a location in order to build a new community centre with the goal to address the gap in services available to the broader Somali community,” according to a report.
It said the property is near, and accessible by public transit, too much of Toronto’s Somali population and can be developed to service local community recreation needs.
The site has tennis courts, mature trees and has been long sought by members of the Somali community.
“The proposed community centre will be a valuable resource to improve vital services to all communities in the surrounding neighbourhoods,” according to a staff report.
The Somali Centre will own the facility and be responsible for all costs, including development, construction, maintenance and operating costs, replacement costs, and property taxes, related to property.
At the expiry or earlier termination of the Lease, the Centre will surrender the leased lands and community centre to the City, or demolish the buildings and improvements on the lands in the condition in which they were received.
The City said the Somali community is underserved and deserves its own centre for programs.
The Somalis will pay a nominal rent for the property and it is estimated the City will earn just under $5 million over a two decade lease.
City staff noted the SCCR is a registered non-profit organization led by a group of Somali Canadian young professionals, whose goal is to create a cultural recreation and community space for the Somali population in Toronto.
Staff acknowledged the proposed SCCR represents a monumental effort of community organizing and fundraising over the years.