Today, members of the Virginia Park Community Centre joined Premier John Hogan, KC, ministers and the mayor of the City of St. John’s to announce plans to construct a new community resource centre in Pleasantville with land and financial commitments from the Provincial Government and the City of St. John’s.

The future community resource centre will replace the current Virginia Park Community Centre on Harding Road which has been temporarily closed since January 2024. As a community resource centre, it will aim to provide a greater variety of services to more people than the existing centre.

The new centre will be located on Janeway Place in St. John’s, next to 32 NLHC homes in the area that are nearing completion. This new location will allow the centre to serve the Virginia Park community as it has since 1987 and expand to serve the growing Pleasantville community and families in the Quidi Vidi and Forest Road areas. The centre will eventually take on a new name that will better reflect this bigger area.

Premier Hogan was on hand to announce the provision of the land for the project, as well as an investment of up to $1 million from the Provincial Government for construction of the new facility. This investment is in addition to the $237,500 in annual operating funding the Provincial Government provides to the centre for the important social, educational, recreational and career development programs and services it provides to the community.

The Virginia Park team are in the process of forming a fundraising committee, which will work to secure additional financing from corporate, community and other levels of government. The target for fundraising is $4.5 million, which includes the commitment from the Provincial Government.

Premier Hogan joined Ron Ellsworth, Board Chair of the Virginia Park Community Centre, for the announcement. They were joined by the Honourable John G. Abbott, Minister Responsible for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation, the Honourable Bernard Davis, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development and MHA for Virginia Waters-Pleasantville, Victoria Mullins, Executive Director of the Virginia Park Community Centre, and His Worship Danny Breen, Mayor of the City of St. John’s.

The City of St. John’s has proudly supported the Virginia Park Community Centre for many years through its Community Grant Program, with $30,000 provided in 2025. The city will also support this project by waiving permit and development fees.

As an “open door” and long-standing safe haven in the neighbourhood, the Virginia Park Community Centre connects people to vital resources – including referrals, social supports, employment services, recreation, education, and wellness programming.

Since January 2024 the community centre has offered services from alternate locations in the community including the Academy Canada building on Harding Road, East Point Elementary and St. Mark’s Anglican Church. These services will continue until construction on the new facility is complete.

Quotes
“Our government knows that a sense of community, and of belonging to a community, is a key driver of health and well-being. This new community centre will expand the reach of the existing Virginia Park Community Centre to serve more families in Pleasantville, Quidi Vidi and Forest Road, and we are pleased to provide land and financial support to help make it a reality.”
Honourable John Hogan, KC
Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador

“This new centre will deepen our impact by expanding the supports and services we can offer to the community. This new larger space will allow us to reach more people, strengthen community connections, and continue being the heart of a larger neighbourhood – a place where everyone is welcomed, supported, and empowered. I thank the Provincial Government for its ongoing support of our vision.”
Ron Ellsworth
Board Chair, Virginia Park Community Centre

“This new community resource centre is the latest in a long line of development projects in Pleasantville. The families that move into these new developments will benefit from the established support structure from the Virginia Park team, and I thank the volunteers for their vision to move forward with a project that not only better serves the families they know, but that will allow their community to grow.”
Honourable John G. Abbott
Minister Responsible for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation

“The City of St. John’s is proud to partner in building a new community resource centre that will serve as a foundation for connection, support, and opportunity for families in Virginia Park, Pleasantville, and beyond. This project reflects our ongoing commitment to invest in organizations and spaces that bring people together and strengthen our neighborhoods for generations to come.”
His Worship Danny Breen
Mayor of the City of St. John’s

“As the member representing both Virginia Waters and Pleasantville, I am extremely pleased to see this project move forward. It is hard to explain just how important the hard-working team at the Virginia Park Community Centre is to our community, and I am so pleased that the work they do will soon benefit even more families.”
Honourable Bernard Davis
Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development and MHA for Virginia Waters –Pleasantville

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