{"id":17218,"date":"2017-05-10T18:54:42","date_gmt":"2017-05-10T22:54:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=17218"},"modified":"2017-05-17T11:35:47","modified_gmt":"2017-05-17T15:35:47","slug":"parking-lot-cultural-centre-addition-proposed-for-library-square","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/parking-lot-cultural-centre-addition-proposed-for-library-square\/","title":{"rendered":"Parking lot, Cultural Centre addition proposed for Library Square"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brock Weir<\/strong><\/p>\n

While elected officials mull options on what to build in Library Square, a parking lot to ease downtown congestion could be a temporary solution.
\nNext Tuesday, May 16, Council is set to review the next phase in the redevelopment of Library Square, the large swath of land on Victoria Street, between the Aurora Cultural Centre and Victoria Hall, currently occupied by the former homes of the Aurora Public Library and Seniors\u2019 Centre.
\nBoth buildings are set for demolition once their current tenants are relocated but while Council mulls options on a more permanent showpiece that could make Library Square a destination, municipal staff are recommending 76 parking spaces north of the Aurora Cultural Centre, along with a water feature.
\nIt is one of two concept plans which will be up for Council debate at the next General Committee meeting, with the second proposing just 20 parking spaces with a roundabout offered for pick-up and drop-off.
\nIf the first option is approved by Council at the Committee level next week and ratified on May 23, it would leave the door open for future commercial uses and community space to be built on the site.
\nAccording a report before Council by Fausto Filipetto, Senior Policy Planner for the Town of Aurora, the two options are the result of three workshops held by FOTENN Planning + Design with Council members and municipal staff in March.
\n\u201cThe workshops provided the opportunity for a recap of the intensive public consultation undertaken by staff in 2016 and a refocus on the priorities to be considered in the preparation of new concept plans,\u201d said Mr. Filipetto after initial concept plans developed by FOTENN last year were panned by elected officials and members of the public alike.
\n\u201cTwo conceptual alternatives have been provided [with] two main differences between the two concepts. The first is Option One [which] proposes a water feature and landscaping in the area between the rear of the Aurora Public Library and Cultural Centre, while Option 2 proposes 20 parking spaces with a roundabout for drop-off and pick-up. The other main difference is that Option 1 proposes 76 parking spaces north of the Cultural Centre on the former library and seniors\u2019 centre site. This area is also identified as being future space for commercial uses and community space.
\n\u201cOption 2 proposes 25 parking spaces in this area along with a building to be used for commercial use and community space. Both options propose an addition to the rear of the Cultural Centre as well as Victoria Hall.\u201d
\nAlthough the final decision will, of course, be in Council\u2019s hands, Option 1 got the nod from municipal staff.
\n\u201cStaff prefer this option from a design and function perspective,\u201d said Mr. Fillipetto. \u201cThis option also provides a greater amount of parking with the option of having space available for future commercial uses and community space.\u201d
\nOnce Council approves the design model of their choice, next steps in the process will include the relocation of tenants, the demolition, paving the parking lot, and going forward with a detailed design of public open spaces and the additions to the Aurora Cultural Centre and Victoria Hall \u2013 the cost of which is estimated to come in at approximately $1 million.
\nLast month, Council members and Town Staff attended the annual general meeting of the Town Park Ratepayers Association, one of the most vocal critics of the previous concepts proposed for Aurora\u2019s \u201cCultural Precinct,\u201d of which Library Square is a key component.
\nAt that session, the ratepayers sought assurances that no significant changes would be made to Town Park itself after the consultants proposed significant changes including the removal of the baseball diamond and moving the band shell from the north side of the park to the south, replacing the diamond. Al Downey, Aurora\u2019s Director of Parks and Recreation assured the members that the only changes they would see to Town Park would be centred on developing and repurposing the historic armoury in its northeast corner.
\nAttention also focused on the development of Library Square, with staff stressing to residents multiple visions would be proposed for the space.
\n\u201cThere was extensive consultation and it lasted the duration of the summer,\u201d said Mr. Filipetto, when asked how public input had been sought on developing the second round of concept plans for the area. \u201cIt involved an in-person survey, an online survey, a Twitter poll, we had public meetings, we met specifically [with this ratepayers group] as well and we took everything back to Council.\u201d
\nWhere previous plans included the redevelopment of buildings and properties currently in private hands, this go-round will prove to be a marked contrast.
\n\u201cYou will see something quite different,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re really trying to concentrate on what the Town owns.\u201d<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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