For the Community
When the low rent, waterfront area of Yaletown warehouses and rail sidings was slated for re-development, the city was challenged to provide a unifying focus of self-expression for the virtually instant community it would create. Opened in 1996, the Roundhouse Community Centre is a testing ground for community-building in Vancouver's diverse, rapidly increasing population. For visitors or residents, it offers the city's best effort at physical urban renewal coupled with sensitive West Coast-style outreach.

Programs Galore
The luxury centre was created and equipped by Concord Pacific Corporation at a cost of $9 million. Now it's run jointly by the Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Society and Vancouver Parks Board. It has the city's biggest gymnasium, but arts and recreation programs provide a bigger profile now. For instance, its dance program features West African, salsa, line dancing for seniors, belly dancing and, for the really energetic, Latin funk. Diversity is also functional, in courses on writing, getting published and English as a second language. Some programs are evenfree.

All Aboard
Roundhouse is a departure platform too. The Uts'am Witness Project takes participants to the Coast Salish nation's home territory for weekends, where participants experience community building and dialogue. Programs are financed by city grant, memberships and partnerships with projects like Asian Heritage Month. Rental of spaces to other groups both extends the offerings and supports programs. If you do stop by the building, check out the nearby glass pavilion where old loco No. 374 is located - the first transcontinental train into Vancouver.