{"id":37740,"date":"2026-03-05T12:29:51","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T17:29:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=37740"},"modified":"2026-03-05T12:30:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T17:30:01","slug":"victoria-hall-to-receive-new-lease-on-life-following-approval-of-reno-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/victoria-hall-to-receive-new-lease-on-life-following-approval-of-reno-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"Victoria Hall to receive new lease on life following approval of reno budget"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Historic Victoria Hall will receive a significant overhaul to preserve it for future generations after Council approved a contentious renovation plan on a vote of 4 \u2013 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision will see the budget for the long-proposed project increased from the $500,000 approved this past fall at budget-time to nearly $2.182 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Municipal staff attribute the budget increase to several factors, including the replacement of the floor structure due to previously-undetected dry rot, and replacing the existing addition to the rear of the building with a new structure to bring it up to code with Provincial accessibility requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supporting the proposal were Mayor Tom Mrakas, Ward 2 Councillor Rachel Gilliland, Ward 4 Councillor Michael Thompson, and Ward 6 Councillor Harold Kim, who agreed the proposals were essential in ensuring the building for future generations. But those who voted against the proposal \u2013 Ward 1 Councillor Ron Weese, Ward 3 Councillor Wendy Gaertner, and Ward 5 Councillor John Gallo \u2013 said more information was needed to make a decision, including the potential future use of the landmark on the southwest corner of Victoria and Mosley Streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCouncil has not reviewed a public report demonstrating the return of investment at this new cost level. This fundamentally changes the financial reality of this project,\u201d said Councillor Gallo. \u201cCouncil has a duty to also ask whether this level of investment represents the best and most responsible use of public funds. We should seriously consider whether we should pause, reset and evaluate whether this project should proceed, whether its scope should be reconsidered, or whether these funds should be allocated more effectively to other priorities that deliver greater value for residents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Councillor Gallo questioned the timing of the proposed budget increase and requested that the matter go into Closed Session discussions to receive \u201cfull and complete information, including specific details that cannot be discussed publicly\u201d and ask the \u201cnecessary questions required to fulfil our fiduciary responsibility to the residents of Aurora before any final decision was made.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Councillor Weese had a similar point of view, stating the debate was \u201cnot about\u2026preservation of heritage,\u201d but rather the process that got Council to this point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have adequate information,\u201d he said. \u201cI just don\u2019t want to be an accomplice on this by voting on behalf of this to make it move forward because we want to preserve the building. I think we need to look at the building and look at the use of the building for heritage purposes, and the renovation of this building should suit those purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s any emotion in this, at least there isn\u2019t for me,\u201d he continued later in the meeting. \u201cIf there is for other people, this is a sound decision that should be made on facts and we don\u2019t have those facts. I don\u2019t have those facts and I\u2019m not going to be complicit with the lack of facts that are not provided in here and vote in favour of something that residents have explained they don\u2019t want\u2026. If somebody thinks this dry rot is worth $1.67 million, I\u2019m no builder, but this doesn\u2019t make any sense to me. I\u2019d like to see some facts. I\u2019d like to see where they are and, if in another two or three weeks, or six weeks, whatever it takes, in order to be sound about what [decision] we\u2019re making, I\u2019m ready to wait.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Councillor Gaertner also urged a pause, adding that the project needs to be looked at \u201cvery clearly\u201d and through the lens of how residents and visitors could enjoy the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have to preserve this building. It\u2019s under the Ontario Heritage Trust, which does not dictate what we do with it, but we have to ensure that it stands,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful building. This project was not in the 10-year Capital Repair and Replacement Reserve. It was not in our 10-year Capital Plan. That reserve fund is already substantially in deficit without adding a new project\u2026 and that\u2019s very concerning to me and I think concerning to some of our taxpayers because the purpose of that fund is to manage long-term sustainability of our infrastructure and our buildings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think when we are thinking about the residents and their tax dollars and what they want in that residential neighborhood, what are our goals and what are our responsibilities? To me, that is to preserve the heritage building, to celebrate the Gothic Revival architecture. I am not interested in changing the use, adding a use\u2026 [Neighbours are] already coping with the noise and light from the Town Square, from the Armoury. I think what we need to do is respect the heritage of this building and leave it at that. And I think if you would do a survey, an official survey of this area, you would find out that that’s what the residents would want.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proponents of the plan said they too had concerns about the rising costs, but argued that not only was improving Victoria Hall part of the overall revitalization plan for Aurora\u2019s historic downtown, but the improvements on the table would have to be done regardless of the cost to make the building usable and accessible for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI, for one, believe that we have one of the most competent and professional staff in York Region,\u201d said Councillor Kim. \u201cSure, there could have been ways to mitigate the shock value of the sticker price, likely, but I do believe that these figures given to us is essentially a figure that provides Council and the Town with the most flexibility to provide the [broadest] range of usage for this building. In the end, we\u2019ve all heard there\u2019s three options here \u2013 we either sell it, we renovate it, or demolish it. Demolishing it is not an option. Leaving it as is is not an option because we can\u2019t do anything with it because it\u2019s not safe to even go in. This $2.1 million \u2013 is that a lot of money? It certainly is. My view of the funds is there\u2019s a cash component of a financial ledger and there\u2019s also an asset component. Whatever we put into this building, whether it\u2019s $500,000 or $2.1 million, the value of our assets is still the same.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the debate continued, he added he felt needing more time to debate is a common refrain around the Council table on big projects, and it was time for action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to move the business of the Town and the vision for a greater Aurora where there is a great community benefit \u2013 not a small one, but a great community benefit,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have to get over the initial sticker shock and move ahead to what the possibilities can be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was a similar standpoint to the one voiced by Councillor Gilliland, who said the question ultimately came down to not whether to invest in the project, but \u201cwhether to do it strategically now or relatively later.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, I\u2019m fundamentally just looking at the original point [and that is] to bring Victoria Hall to a standard that is compliant to our building codes, AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act) compliant, has safe electrical and has a building that will be legendary for the next 75 years,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is a building we have refurbished a few times in its lifetimes by other Councils over the years. It\u2019s not really a question of whether or not Victoria Hall requires an investment. It needs an investment\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI believe that\u2019s what\u2019s being presented from staff and what we\u2019ve asked is minimally the structure that it needs in order to move forward to keep it\u2026. I think our hearts are all in the same place here, and I don\u2019t think that there\u2019s going to be an outcome that is really going to change today or two months from now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Councillor Thompson voiced a similar viewpoint. While he said he was not opposed to going into Closed Session for further information, he voiced skepticism on whether this information would lead to a different outcome as well. He stressed Victoria Hall was part of the original AECON study carried out in 2016 that also looked at the repurposing of the Aurora Armoury and the old Library and Seniors\u2019 Centre buildings on Victoria Street that were demolished to make way for the Aurora Town Square redevelopment, as well as future uses for Petch House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday, I\u2019m very proud that we made those decisions because, as a result, we have Town Square. We have a wonderful new addition. It\u2019s been well-received from the community and it was a good choice, but a challenging one,\u201d he said. \u201cIt took a long time to get there and part of that struggle was what was going to happen, and you had to get buy-in and Council to be able to agree on some degree of vision. The biggest step we had was the demolition of the Seniors\u2019 Centre and the old Library because that really focused us then to move forward and say, \u2018Okay, we\u2019re no longer looking at repurposing. Let\u2019s figure out the vision for this empty space.\u2019 Still took some time, but we got there. Now we have a similar conversation where we have an underutilized asset that is just sitting there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need to make a decision to go forward with this asset and how are we going to utilize it. I think from what I’ve heard around the table, everybody’s in agreement that we’re not looking to rebuild on this site. We want to utilize the current building in the best possible way\u2026. Regardless of the use, whether it’s community space, whether it’s a commercial usage or some others, you know, these renovations still need to be done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe truth is that if we want to refurbish Victoria Hall, if we want to use it, whether it’s for public use or for commercial use, we need to do this, and we have the estimates.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mayor Mrakas also cited the AECON report as one of the reasons he supported moving forward with the renovations to Victoria Hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is an investment in our community that we\u2019ve been working towards \u2013 a goal of creating a vibrant downtown core and it\u2019s another piece of the bigger puzzle of that revitalization,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to invest in our community\u2026because if we don\u2019t invest in our community, we can\u2019t expect the private sector to invest in our community\u2026. I think our community is one of the best places to live, work and play \u2013 and there\u2019s a reason why we are here. It\u2019s because we continue to invest in ourselves, in building something, in moving towards strengthening our community and our downtown core.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is how you build a vibrant downtown. This is how you build a strong local economy, an economy, and a downtown, and a community that our residents can be proud of and that not only today, but generations will be proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Historic Victoria Hall will receive a significant overhaul to preserve it for future generations after Council approved a contentious renovation plan on a vote of 4 \u2013 3. The decision will see the budget for the long-proposed project increased from the $500,000 approved this past fall at budget-time to nearly $2.182 million. Municipal staff attribute […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":37647,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_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},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37740","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\/2026\/02\/2026-02-13-04.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-9OI","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-25 00:23:00","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\/37740","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=37740"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37741,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37740\/revisions\/37741"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}