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The Ottawa Public Library wants to partner with Library and Archives Canada to build a $168-million super library on city-owned land just west of Bronson Avenue.
The OPL on Thursday revealed its preferred site for a new central library, confirming it wants to partner with the federal archives to establish a four-floor facility at 557 Wellington St., which is at the intersection of Albert and Commissioner streets.
The 3.56-acre property is the only city-owned land out of the 12 reviewed during a site selection process led by the OPL this year. It has become known as the “exemplar” site since the beginning of the study because the OPL was using the property as a measuring stick against other possible properties.
In the end, an OPL site selection committee concluded it was the best property for the partnership because it’s the most affordable, but also because it has eye-catching surroundings being near an escarpment and aqueduct.
A joint facility with the federal archives would be $13 million cheaper than a standalone central library, staff say.
The 216,000-square-foot building would be constructed at the easternmost part of the property, about 50 metres from Bronson Avenue and 290 metres from the future Pimisi LRT station at Booth Street.
Under the proposal, the OPL would be responsible for $99 million of the project cost and the federal archives would pay $69 million. The cost-split is based on the space each organization would use in the building.
The OPL believes its share can be knocked down to $94.8 million after it uses money from reserves and development charges. The library can also use money from the sale of its existing Metcalfe Street library, but the OPL isn’t saying how much the property could go for.
The rest of the money could come from a capital fundraising campaign and upper-tier government grants. In last year’s federal election campaign, Ottawa Centre MP Catherine McKenna promised to seek federal funding for a central library.
The partnership with the federal archives would create huge potential for the shared spaces, the OPL says.
There would be a main entrance and town square with a cafe, multipurpose spaces, a museum-quality exhibition gallery and a genealogy centre.
The OPL and Library and Archives Canada must reach a “relationship agreement” before designing the building.
The $168-million preliminary cost estimate doesn’t include parking. The OPL estimates it could cost about $19 million for an underground parking garage holding 200 vehicles, but it will see if the private sector would be interested in building and maintaining the parking.
The OPL has also had preliminary discussions with the Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation for advice on an aboriginal component to the project.
The OPL estimates it would need $1.8 million more annually for operating the new central library.
There was pressure on the OPL to recommend a site downtown, but no landowners responded to a request for interest by the library. The 12 sites reviewed were the city’s best assessment of available land in the central area, but acquiring private land would require the library to pay market prices.
When library trustees learned in August that three short-listed properties were roughly between Booth Street and Bronson Avenue, they asked that another site bounded by Albert, Slater and Lyon streets be added to the final due diligence.
The preferred site, 557 Wellington St., came out ahead in the scoring.
The library board will vote on the recommendations during a meeting Jan. 31.
City council has the final authority and will vote Feb. 8.
If the city and feds approve the project, construction would start in 2019 and the building would open in spring 2022. The OPL recommends using a design-bid-build procurement process.
The OPL hasn’t decided how it would choose an architect. It would be through a competitive tender process, but not necessarily a design competition.
Timeline: The search for a new central library
2005-2006: Growing interest in replacing the Metcalfe central library. Although city manager Kent Kirkpatrick warns the city doesn’t have the money, then-library board chair Rick Chiarelli says two developers had already approached the board with separate public-private proposals, one downtown, the other at Bayview.
Sept. 2008: The library board approves spending up to $25 million on downtown land.
June 2009: The library announces a favoured location on a site bounded by Albert, Slater, Bay and Lyon streets and asks for a $26-million acquisition budget. The total cost is estimated at $181 million.
July 2010: The search begins again after city staff fail to reach a deal to buy the land.
Nov. 2011: The library budgets $3.9 million to lay the groundwork for the new central branch.
July 2014: A study on the condition of the 40-year-old central branch concludes it would cost at least $70 million to rehabilitate the building to make it viable for the next 20 years. The library board votes unanimously in favour of looking for a private partner to help replace the building.
Sept. 2014: Jim Watson, campaigning for re-election, says he supports a public-private partnership and suggests Bayview Yards as a potential location, with LeBreton Flats as another possibility.
May 2015: A new central public library is identified as a strategic initiative for the city, but there’s no money allocated to the project.
Jan. 2016: Library and Archives Canada signs a letter of intent with the Ottawa Public Library to investigate a potential partnership. It would mean a larger building that houses collections from both institutions.
Jan. 2016: Both proposals to develop the LeBreton lands include a showpiece library. The Senators-led plan from RendezVous’ IllumiNation LeBreton places it at the corner of Albert and Booth streets, just outside the LeBreton lands. The city owns part of the property and the NCC owns the rest. Competitor Devcore calls its proposal “the civic cornerstone building.”
April 2016: The library board approves a formal site selection process, including a call for potential locations for either a stand-alone central branch or a joint facility to be shared with Library and Archives Canada.
RendezVous wins its bid to redevelop LeBreton Flats. However, the library won’t become a reality unless the group formally proposes the site as part of a call for potential locations in the downtown area.
May 2016: The library board approves a public consultation strategy and schedules two consultations at city hall. Bookmark the Core, a community group that wants the library to be built downtown, urges the board to share the results of the consultation before finalizing the selection criteria.
July 2016: The library board releases a long list of 12 possible locations identified by the city’s real estate office. A city-owned site at 557 Wellington St. just west of Bronson is the “exemplar” site, which could be used to build the new library or be sold to help finance another site. The library indicates a preference for the downtown core, with properties east of the canal prioritized over properties west of Bronson.
Summer 2016: Behind closed doors, the board approves a site evaluation process and discusses the ranking of the 12 possible locations. Staff study an unknown number of shortlisted sites. It is still unclear whether the location will be for a stand-alone branch and or a joint Ottawa Public Library-Library and Archives Canada facility. A preferred location or locations is to be named in December.
Oct. 2016: The board votes against releasing the shortlist of possible locations for the new central library. Critics argue the timeline will not give the public enough time to comment.
Dec. 15, 2017: The Ottawa Public Library recommends partnering with Library and Archives Canada to build a joint facility at 557 Wellington St.
jwilling@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JonathanWilling
查看原文...
The OPL on Thursday revealed its preferred site for a new central library, confirming it wants to partner with the federal archives to establish a four-floor facility at 557 Wellington St., which is at the intersection of Albert and Commissioner streets.
The 3.56-acre property is the only city-owned land out of the 12 reviewed during a site selection process led by the OPL this year. It has become known as the “exemplar” site since the beginning of the study because the OPL was using the property as a measuring stick against other possible properties.
In the end, an OPL site selection committee concluded it was the best property for the partnership because it’s the most affordable, but also because it has eye-catching surroundings being near an escarpment and aqueduct.
A joint facility with the federal archives would be $13 million cheaper than a standalone central library, staff say.
The 216,000-square-foot building would be constructed at the easternmost part of the property, about 50 metres from Bronson Avenue and 290 metres from the future Pimisi LRT station at Booth Street.
Under the proposal, the OPL would be responsible for $99 million of the project cost and the federal archives would pay $69 million. The cost-split is based on the space each organization would use in the building.
The OPL believes its share can be knocked down to $94.8 million after it uses money from reserves and development charges. The library can also use money from the sale of its existing Metcalfe Street library, but the OPL isn’t saying how much the property could go for.
The rest of the money could come from a capital fundraising campaign and upper-tier government grants. In last year’s federal election campaign, Ottawa Centre MP Catherine McKenna promised to seek federal funding for a central library.
The partnership with the federal archives would create huge potential for the shared spaces, the OPL says.
There would be a main entrance and town square with a cafe, multipurpose spaces, a museum-quality exhibition gallery and a genealogy centre.
The OPL and Library and Archives Canada must reach a “relationship agreement” before designing the building.
The $168-million preliminary cost estimate doesn’t include parking. The OPL estimates it could cost about $19 million for an underground parking garage holding 200 vehicles, but it will see if the private sector would be interested in building and maintaining the parking.
The OPL has also had preliminary discussions with the Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation for advice on an aboriginal component to the project.
The OPL estimates it would need $1.8 million more annually for operating the new central library.
There was pressure on the OPL to recommend a site downtown, but no landowners responded to a request for interest by the library. The 12 sites reviewed were the city’s best assessment of available land in the central area, but acquiring private land would require the library to pay market prices.
When library trustees learned in August that three short-listed properties were roughly between Booth Street and Bronson Avenue, they asked that another site bounded by Albert, Slater and Lyon streets be added to the final due diligence.
The preferred site, 557 Wellington St., came out ahead in the scoring.
The library board will vote on the recommendations during a meeting Jan. 31.
City council has the final authority and will vote Feb. 8.
If the city and feds approve the project, construction would start in 2019 and the building would open in spring 2022. The OPL recommends using a design-bid-build procurement process.
The OPL hasn’t decided how it would choose an architect. It would be through a competitive tender process, but not necessarily a design competition.
Timeline: The search for a new central library
2005-2006: Growing interest in replacing the Metcalfe central library. Although city manager Kent Kirkpatrick warns the city doesn’t have the money, then-library board chair Rick Chiarelli says two developers had already approached the board with separate public-private proposals, one downtown, the other at Bayview.
Sept. 2008: The library board approves spending up to $25 million on downtown land.
June 2009: The library announces a favoured location on a site bounded by Albert, Slater, Bay and Lyon streets and asks for a $26-million acquisition budget. The total cost is estimated at $181 million.
July 2010: The search begins again after city staff fail to reach a deal to buy the land.
Nov. 2011: The library budgets $3.9 million to lay the groundwork for the new central branch.
July 2014: A study on the condition of the 40-year-old central branch concludes it would cost at least $70 million to rehabilitate the building to make it viable for the next 20 years. The library board votes unanimously in favour of looking for a private partner to help replace the building.
Sept. 2014: Jim Watson, campaigning for re-election, says he supports a public-private partnership and suggests Bayview Yards as a potential location, with LeBreton Flats as another possibility.
May 2015: A new central public library is identified as a strategic initiative for the city, but there’s no money allocated to the project.
Jan. 2016: Library and Archives Canada signs a letter of intent with the Ottawa Public Library to investigate a potential partnership. It would mean a larger building that houses collections from both institutions.
Jan. 2016: Both proposals to develop the LeBreton lands include a showpiece library. The Senators-led plan from RendezVous’ IllumiNation LeBreton places it at the corner of Albert and Booth streets, just outside the LeBreton lands. The city owns part of the property and the NCC owns the rest. Competitor Devcore calls its proposal “the civic cornerstone building.”
April 2016: The library board approves a formal site selection process, including a call for potential locations for either a stand-alone central branch or a joint facility to be shared with Library and Archives Canada.
RendezVous wins its bid to redevelop LeBreton Flats. However, the library won’t become a reality unless the group formally proposes the site as part of a call for potential locations in the downtown area.
May 2016: The library board approves a public consultation strategy and schedules two consultations at city hall. Bookmark the Core, a community group that wants the library to be built downtown, urges the board to share the results of the consultation before finalizing the selection criteria.
July 2016: The library board releases a long list of 12 possible locations identified by the city’s real estate office. A city-owned site at 557 Wellington St. just west of Bronson is the “exemplar” site, which could be used to build the new library or be sold to help finance another site. The library indicates a preference for the downtown core, with properties east of the canal prioritized over properties west of Bronson.
Summer 2016: Behind closed doors, the board approves a site evaluation process and discusses the ranking of the 12 possible locations. Staff study an unknown number of shortlisted sites. It is still unclear whether the location will be for a stand-alone branch and or a joint Ottawa Public Library-Library and Archives Canada facility. A preferred location or locations is to be named in December.
Oct. 2016: The board votes against releasing the shortlist of possible locations for the new central library. Critics argue the timeline will not give the public enough time to comment.
Dec. 15, 2017: The Ottawa Public Library recommends partnering with Library and Archives Canada to build a joint facility at 557 Wellington St.
jwilling@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JonathanWilling
查看原文...
