a dream decades in the making: vancouver’s lgbtq2+ community centre to open in 2027
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the long-awaited qmunity lgbtq2+ community centre, set to open in spring 2027, is entering its final stretch of development. qmunity photo
for tim stevenson, the vision began long before construction cranes rose over davie street in vancouver’s west end — back when he was a young man struggling in silence.
“i didn’t come out until i was 30,” said stevenson, now 80, vancouver’s former city councillor and the first openly gay mla in b.c. “there was no one to talk to. i was determined that no younger person would have to go through the hell that i had gone through.”
as a city councillor in the early 2000s, stevenson pushed through a motion for the city to secure the 981 davie st. site in 2016 for an lgbtq2+ community centre — a process that took years of political negotiation and persistence.
“it is one of the most important things i’ve accomplished in my career,” he said. “the centre will be a beacon of hope, not just for vancouver or b.c., but for the entire country, especially at a time when queer and transgender communities are feeling increasingly under attack.”
that promise, first formed in the early 1980s when stevenson was president of gay ubc, has spent four decades inching closer to reality.
the long-awaited qmunity community centre is set to open in spring 2027, on the first two floors of a 17-storey mass-timber building in the heart of davie village.
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the centre is part of a $91-million partnership between the federal, provincial and municipal governments to fund a project including 154 below-market rental housing units operated by the community land trust, along with 31 units managed by mclaren housing society for people living with hiv/aids.
when it opens, it will be one of the largest centres of its kind in the country, providing a range of support services to lgbtq2+ and two-spirit individuals in b.c.
“it is one of the most important things i’ve accomplished in my career,” he said. “the centre will be a beacon of hope, not just for vancouver or b.c., but for the entire country, especially at a time when queer and transgender communities are feeling increasingly under attack,’ said tim stevenson, a former councillor and mla.
gerry kahrmann
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since 1981, qmunity non-profit has been housed up a flight of stairs two blocks west on bute street in an old 3,000-square-foot, low-ceilinged second-floor space, where exposed pipes and cramped rooms have long limited what the organization could offer.
yet within those walls, history was made: the first vancouver pride parade was organized there, along with the city’s first queer film festival.
“that space has so much heart,” said michaël robach, qmunity’s interim executive director. but it doesn’t fit the current level of need from people within vancouver’s queer communities.
while the b.c. organization serves about 20,000 people a year, demand for its services has far outpaced capacity — especially for free and low-cost counselling for lgbtq+ and transgender citizens, where the centre receives about 50 to 85 requests at a time but can only support 14 or 15 clients.
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“we get one to four calls every day from parents saying their kid just came out and they don’t know where to go,” robach said.
the new centre will change that.
it will span 13,000 square feet, including one level of ground-floor space, a visible contrast to the current location, which many people walk past without ever knowing it exists.
“for marginalized communities, sometimes we don’t realize we deserve beautiful things,” robach said. “we get used to hiding in dark corners, but this space will be beautiful and very visible.”
vancouver will join other north american cities like toronto, l.a., chicago, and san francisco, which already have lgbtq+ community centres.
while the city is providing the space, qmunity must raise funds to bring it to life.
the organization launched a $3.2-million fundraising campaign, it takes a qmunity, to cover moving costs and furnishings for three kitchens, multiple multi-use rooms and a library. the campaign goal has since grown to $6.4 million, with $1.6 million still to be raised. roughly half has already been secured through major donors.
the expanded centre in vancouver will include dedicated youth and senior lounges, along with larger, more accessible spaces for programming and peer support. it will also host qmunity’s legal clinic, where lawyers provide free counsel and representation for clients on immigration, housing and human rights matters.
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plans are also in place to expand sobriety supports and potentially provide sexual health services, harm reduction programs and a community-based pharmacy offering trans-affirming care and hiv prevention medication.
“this is a space for everyone,” robach said. “for youth, seniors, and people from small communities across the province, whether they need support coming out or simply want to find a safe place to belong.”
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