They feel seen, they feel heard,” said a Somali community spokesperson about Ottawa’s announcement on Saturday of $20 million to help build the facility in a new location in Rexdale.

A plan to build a recreation and cultural centre for Toronto’s Somali community that sparked outcry in an Etobicoke neighbourhood last year is moving ahead, but in a new location. In a development that advocates say marks a big step toward the realization of a decades-long dream to give the city’s Somali population a place in the city to call its own, on Saturday the federal government announced $20 million to help build the facility. The proposed site is a sports field in the Rexdale neighbourhood.

Zakaria Abdulle, chair and president of the Somali Centre for Culture and Recreation (SCCR), a non-profit group that has been organizing for the project, said the announcement was a historic moment for a community that has become an integral part of Toronto but has historically faced marginalization. “You can’t go around anywhere in the northwest part of the city and not feel Somali culture, (in its) restaurants and businesses. The community’s been here for more than 40 years,” he said at a press conference at Humber College attended by dozens of Somali Torontonians from multiple generations.“And that’s why this moment means so much to our elders, but (also) to our children and youth … they feel seen, they feel heard, and they feel Canadian for the first time in a very long time.

”There are about 20,000 people of Somali ancestry in Toronto, according to census data, many of whom settled in Rexdale and elsewhere in the city’s west end as the country fell into civil war in the 1980s and 1990s.The centre would provide social, cultural, and recreational services geared to the Somali population, who are predominantly Black and Muslim, but also be open to all residents. According to a federal press release, the 100,000-square-foot facility would include space for fitness, sport, art, dance, music and social services such as newcomer support.

The federal contribution for the project would come from the $1.5-billion Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program. While the money would help get the project off the ground, organizers say it’s not enough to build it and keep it running. They’re seeking additional support from the provincial government and the city, and are also fundraising from community members. 

Nate Erskine-Smith, federal minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, noted that Saturday was the first full day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and “I can think of no better way to celebrate” than announcing funding for the centre.He praised the community’s dedication to seeing the project through. “Hearing the story of how many years it’s taken to come to this place, it’s incredibly important that people don’t give up. And when there is a vision, when there is a dream, people continue to work to make it happen,” he said.SCCR has been working to build the centre for years, and last year appeared to be on the brink of a major breakthrough when the city announced plans to build the facility in Buttonwood Park, in the Edenbridge-Humber Valley neighbourhood.

But nearby residents pushed back, arguing the centre would take up valuable green space and that they hadn’t been properly consulted. Although the city had been considering the Buttonwood site for some time, its selection as the preferred location was only made public days before a recommendation to approve an initial 30-year lease was set to go to Mayor Olivia Chow’s executive committee last June.After hearing from angry residents, Chow agreed “the process got messed up” and referred the plan back to staff for more study. 

The local councillor, Stephen Holyday, and Premier Doug Ford sided with the angry residents. Ford’s office said he would work with SCCR to find a location in his Etobicoke North riding. The new proposed site at 95 Humberline Drive is in Ford’s riding. It’s owned by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and has been used by the city as a park and turf fields.

It was to be part of a land swap with the city, but in October a report to the board of the Toronto Lands Corporation, which oversees the TDSB’s real estate, recommended negotiating its lease to SCCR. 

Board trustee Liban Hassan said Saturday the proposed lease was for 49 years. Hassan, a member of the Somali community, he said he’d seen thousands of Somali-Canadian students graduate and achieve “remarkable things,” but has also seen the challenges they have faced. Hassan, who represents Ward 6 for the school board, said the centre would benefit the community by providing a “safe space … where our youth can come and understand their culture, get involved in sports and after-school programs.”Chow, who attended the press conference, said she was “delighted” the project was moving ahead. 

The mayor said the city would likely waive development charges and other fees to help get the centre built, and would consider partnering with it to fund its operations. Her office clarified that the municipality has yet to make any commitments, however. 

Ford, who led his Ontario PCs to a third straight majority government in Thursday’s provincial election, wasn’t in attendance Saturday. But Abdulle said the premier and his government had been “instrumental” in advancing the plan. 

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Ben Spurr is the Star’s city hall bureau chief, based in Toronto. Reach him by email at bspurr@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter: @BenSpurr.