{"id":23166,"date":"2019-03-07T00:26:33","date_gmt":"2019-03-07T05:26:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=23166"},"modified":"2019-03-07T00:26:33","modified_gmt":"2019-03-07T05:26:33","slug":"library-square-is-one-bookend-to-an-exciting-story-mayor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/library-square-is-one-bookend-to-an-exciting-story-mayor\/","title":{"rendered":"Library Square is one \u201cbookend to an exciting story\u201d: Mayor"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

If the Aurora Armoury\u2019s future as a campus to Niagara College\u2019s Canadian Food & Wine Institute is a bookend on downtown revitalization, everything in between is held up by the bookend on the other end of the shelf: Library Square.
\nThis was the view offered to local business leaders last month at Mayor Tom Mrakas\u2019 inaugural Annual Mayor\u2019s Lunch hosted by the Aurora Chamber of Commerce.
\nAs The Auroran reported last week, Mayor Mrakas used the occasion to share optimism over ongoing renovation work taking place at the historic Aurora Armoury, the former home of the Queen\u2019s York Rangers, situated at the northeast corner of Town Park.
\nBringing a campus of the Canadian Food & Wine Institute is a move which will move the long-stated goal of Downtown Revitalization forward, he said, working hand-in-hand with the redevelopment of Library Square.
\n\u201cThese [are] bookends to an exciting story: the story of our downtown revitalization,\u201d said Mayor Mrakas, referencing recently-released artistic renderings of what residents might find at Library Square once redevelopment is complete. \u201cThe outdoor space and the indoor space that we have planned are truly exceptional in both design and function. The outdoor space will feature a splash pad in the summer and a refrigerated rink in the winter, and will be easily accessible from the Library, 22 Church Street, and Public Transit. Library Square will offer a stunning backdrop to concerts, to music festivals, public art displays, parades, performances, pop-up shops, food truck festivals and cafes.
\n\u201cThe Square is being designed in a way that will be visible from the main street to draw people into the activities taking place there. The proposed performance hall is yet another destination for residents and visitors and will allow us to host some truly exceptional events. With retractable seating in the hall, the space can be used for theatrical performances, concerts, comedy shows, movie screenings, ceremonies, recitals as well as banquets, trade shows, lectures and large meetings.\u201d
\nThis space, he added, could accommodate 250 people seated theatre-style, or 160 banquet-style.
\n\u201cWith two new hotels in town, I see us being able to promote this flexible space that businesses and organizations looking to host workshops, banquets and trade shows [can use],\u201d he continued. \u201cIn addition to all these possibilities, we\u2019ll also be able to draw the arts community with the state of the art performing arts studio and a multipurpose visual arts room. These areas also have endless possibilities and can be used for everything from dance and fitness classes, language classes and courses. With the modern design of the addition, the stunning heritage and history of 22 Church Street, the location will also be an ideal space for weddings and special events.\u201d
\nWhen sitting as a Councillor during the 2014 \u2013 2018 term, Mayor Mrakas was a proponent of establishing an Aurora Christmas Market, an idea which as taken root over the past two years at Town Hall, held in conjunction with the Town\u2019s annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony.
\nOnce Library Square is complete, he said he sees this as the future home for such Christmas markets, offering families the chance to skate on the outdoor rink while watching the large evergreen outside the Church Street School be lit up to mark the start of the Holiday Season. From there, families can grab a coffee or hot chocolate while listening to carollers before heading over to Yonge and Wellington, closed to pedestrians, to make way for the Christmas market.
\nMayor Mrakas said that is just one example of the kind of downtown he envisions for Aurora, featuring pedestrian-only events once a month in the summer that allow for on-street live concerts and events to attract residents and visitors, give area businesses a chance to sell \u2013 and a chance to shine \u2013 and make the Town a \u201cmore attractive place to work and set up business.\u201d
\n\u201cWe have all seen the power a well-designed public space can have, particularly when it comes to rejuvenating downtowns. We have seen it happen with our neighbours to the north in Newmarket\u2019s Riverwalk Commons is a real community hub and the surrounding restaurants and businesses are thriving. Aurora has the potential to create something not only equally exciting but excitingly unique to our community.
\n\u201cThe combination of the indoor and outdoor space, and Library Square\u2019s proximity to GO Transit, York Region Transit, and Yonge Street, have the potential to put Library Square on another level and make it a destination not only in Aurora but in York Region. Between the hotels, the team-building offerings at the Armoury, and the new building at Library Square, we\u2019re able to offer something unique to the business community that will set us apart. A new place to meet clients over coffee, or host a trade show or a conference in the new building, businesses, residents and visitors will be excited to take advantage, everything that Library Square is going to bring to our community.\u201d<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If the Aurora Armoury\u2019s future as a campus to Niagara College\u2019s Canadian Food & Wine Institute is a bookend on downtown revitalization, everything in between is held up by the bookend on the other end of the shelf: Library Square.
\nThis was the view offered to local business leaders last month at Mayor Tom Mrakas\u2019 inaugural Annual Mayor\u2019s Lunch hosted by the Aurora Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":23089,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/2018-02-28-02.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-61E","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-15 15:55:26","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23166\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}