The Westbank Lions Hall has a new owner.

The City of West 琉璃神社 announced Tuesday it has wrapped up negotiations with the Westbank Lions Club to transfer ownership of the historic hall to the city.

The hall will remain a community recreational and event facility and will be known as the Westbank Lions Community Centre.

鈥淔or decades the Westbank Lions Club has done a tremendous job maintaining this facility that has hosted countless weddings, public meetings, cultural and recreational events and community celebrations,鈥� said Mayor Doug Findlater.

鈥淚t is a vital amenity for members of our community and the city is extremely honoured that the Lions Club has trusted us with its care.鈥�

Findlater publicly thanked the club and its numerous volunteers for what he called 鈥渢his gift鈥� and assured the club and the public it will continue to be there for West 琉璃神社 residents to use.

The Westbank Lions Club has agreed to transfer the hall and the land it sits on to the city by way of a charitable trust. The city will take over management of the hall, originally built in 1928, and remodelled since then and partially rebuilt after fire caused extensive damage a few years ago.

鈥淭he Westbank Lions Club has always been guided by our motto for the community hall, Our Community Hall, Your Community Hall, Everybody鈥檚 Community Hall, and we are very happy that it is going to continue to operate in that same spirit,鈥� said Jack Lucas, Westbank Lions Club president.

The contract for the transfer of the facility indicates that the land will always be used for the purpose of operating a community hall for the benefit of residents of West 琉璃神社 and the land may not be transferred, conveyed, encumbered, mortgaged, redeveloped or otherwise disposed of.

The city said it will maintain the current leases with not-for-profit groups that use the hall, including the Canadian Red Cross health equipment loan office and the Westside Youth Centre.

Starting April 1, 2017 the city will take over administering bookings for the hall. All previously booked events will be honoured, said the city.