Understanding the Next Steps After the Motion Passes for the Main Street Filipino Cultural Centre & Hotel Project

DECEMBER 11, 2025

As many of you know, last night the City of Vancouver passed the motion Promoting Cultural Inclusion and Economic Vitality: Advancing the Main Street Filipino Cultural Centre and Hotel Project. We want to take a moment to share what this means, provide clarity, and ensure our community is informed about the path forward.

It’s important to understand what this vote does—and what it does not. This motion does not mean the project is fully approved, guaranteed to move forward, or that funding has been secured. City staff will still need to work through a funding proposal and complete the proper development processes. 

What it does do is allow city resources to be prioritized and requires that a rezoning application be brought to a public hearing by the first few months of 2026, effectively speeding up the usual timeline.

However, several councillors abstained from voting, choosing neither to support nor oppose the motion outright. Citing similar concerns as Filipino BC, these councillors expressed that  unanswered questions and outstanding concerns remained, particularly around transparency, financial clarity, and community consultation. 

A purpose-built Filipino Cultural Centre is more than a building; it is a space designed to reflect our culture, heritage, and values. It is a place to gather, to heal, and to pass traditions from one generation to the next. For such a centre to truly serve the community, it needs a pathway built on thoughtful planning, sustainable financial structures, and long-term security—not a fast-track route  to the needs of a developer. 

We also want to acknowledge recent statements suggesting this motion is intended to support Lapu Lapu Day and provide space for the community. While the intention is appreciated and necessary, the actions tell a different story.

Since the April 26 tragedy, Filipinos have been mourning—and largely left to shoulder the community’s recovery efforts on their own. If we truly want to honour the victims, their voices, and the organizations that provided frontline services during the crisis, they must be part of shaping the future of the centre. These voices should not be excluded or used as bargaining pieces for private gain.

What we have been asking for is simple: a thoughtful, inclusive process that allows the community to be heard, to ask questions, and to ensure the centre is built to serve generations to come.

Healthy questions and concerns have been raised, and all we have asked is that the process slow down enough to honour them. The Filipino community deserves the best, not what’s considered ‘good enough.’ For a community that always gives, when we are given something, it must meet the highest standard. 

We also acknowledge that the community has been tirelessly waiting for a centre for decades. Your concerns and eagerness are completely valid, but moving too quickly is not what the community deserves, nor is it feasible.

As we move forward, we will continue to watch closely to ensure that community interests are never overshadowed by financial maneuvers or private interests. And when others fall short, we promise to hold them and anyone claiming to support the Filipino community accountable and keep you updated.

Progress on a Filipino Community & Cultural Centre in South Vancouver

This motion does not stop our work. We continue to move forward with the Filipino Community & Cultural Centre and the programs and services that have been informed by your input—programs that will help support a purpose-built centre.

As a reminder, we have not paused our efforts to bring your vision for a centre to life. Since 2023, Filipino BC has been engaging the community to collect insights, data, and feedback to ensure a centre that is truly for the people. In February 2025, we launched our “What We Heard Report”, the largest community survey of the Filipino community in BC. The findings from this report have guided the development of programs and services that demonstrate what is needed for a centre.

This summer, a site was identified in South Vancouver, selected with your guidance and vision for where the centre should be. It is located near one of the largest Filipino communities and business hubs in the city. We are conducting all necessary checks and balances to ensure this site aligns with community feedback, and we have been preparing a proposal to share with the community and all levels of government.

We also acknowledge that the City has committed to considering all proposals with equal fairness, and we look forward to presenting this proposal to both the City and the community in the new year.

As we bring this proposal forward for the next round of public engagement, we ask that you continue to hold us—and the process—accountable. We know how much you value transparency, accountability, genuine consultation, and meaningful public engagement. Your voices guide our work, and these are the principles we commit to placing at the centre of everything we do.

A Filipino Cultural Centre is not just a building—it is a space to gather, heal, and celebrate our culture. This vision belongs to the Filipino community, and together, we can ensure it is built with care, for today and for generations to come.