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The Civic District: Imagine the Possibilities!

Quote:

Originally Posted by WaterlooInvestor (Post 3190963)

Councillors agreed last night to have a plan developed by staff that would encourage restaurants, outdoor theatres and art studios in the downtown area known as Civic District

Great News! :)

Now combine that with the imagined improvements to Frederick street. Watch this youtube video if you haven't already.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpXhf...eature=related

Quote:

Originally Posted by WaterlooInvestor (Post 3197829)

I think it would be cool to locate the CBC on this block, what do you think?

:D

That would be so awesome. If they would come in, I don't think that they'd need a lot of space though.

Thought this would be the appropriate place to post this,

Quote:

Library ready to turn a page

Terry Pender
RECORD STAFF
KITCHENER

The shelves at the Kitchener Public Library on Queen Street are out of room, says longtime volunteer Margaret Lewis.

She's counting on city councillors to support a $32-million plan to renovate the library and add 54,400 square feet of space.

Lewis was among library supporters at a news conference yesterday at the main branch, where details of three expansion options were made public.

The options are:

Spend $16 million to renovate the existing building. Another $4 million would be spent on architects' fees, buying library equipment and expanding collections, and $6 million would be spent on underground parking.

Spend $24 million to renovate the library and add 30,000 square feet. Another $7 million would be spent on fees, equipment and collections, and $8 million on underground parking.

Spend $32 million to renovate the library and add 54,400 square feet, $11 million on fees, equipment and collections and $8 million on underground parking.

Along with the options, the library showed an artist's sketches of what an expanded, contemporary building on Queen Street North might look like.

Library officials want public comment on the options before making a choice and seeking the approval of city councillors at a finance committee meeting on May 12.

A public meeting will be held Wednesday, April 23, at 7 p.m. in the Schneider Room at the main branch.

Dan Carli, the library board chair, said the main branch building, as it is now, inhibits the growth of programs and services.

"This main library was built over 46 years ago to serve a population of 76,000," Carli said. "Today the Kitchener Public Library serves an estimated population of 213,000 and, by 2031, it's estimated Kitchener's population will increase by another 45 per cent."

A few years ago, Kitchener councillors earmarked $32.5 million for a new central library on the downtown block known as Centre Block. Council's support for the project evaporated, however, as public opposition mounted in the weeks before the November 2006 municipal election.

No councillors attended yesterday's new conference. The money remains earmarked for a library expansion.

Sonia Lewis, the library's chief executive officer, said that of the three current options, the ideal one is the renovation and addition of 54,400 square feet.

"Future space for collection growth and new services will be easily accommodated," Lewis said of the proposal. "Collections space will increase by about 50 per cent, and the building will be fully accessible with wide aisles and lower shelving."

Under this scenario, the number of public computers would be tripled.

All three options assume the construction of an underground parking garage with 200 spaces. Lewis said the library is talking with Centre in the Square and the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery about sharing a new underground garage.

"The final number of parking spaces, where it will be located and the nature of the parking we still have to work out with our neighbours and the city," she said.

Meanwhile, Margaret Lewis, who is not related to Sonia, said her job of shelf-reading -- putting books in order on the shelves -- has become a challenge. "There isn't enough space on the shelves for the books," she said.

She wants councillors to take a long view when they decide the library's future.

"There is no point in building just enough for today,"she said. "We have to have enough for tomorrow, next year and the year after next year."

The three proposals can be viewed at library branches or online at www.kpl.org.

[email protected]

Underground parking would certainly make the block look more appealing. I find it weird to park in a surface parking lot before going to see a show. I'm not used to surface parking being so close to a theatre!

I think even just using the land that is devoted to surface parking right now would create a TON of development opportunities. Doing that would still allow the large green space in the center to be kept as is.

Also, I know the CITS already has a lot going on on most nights, but looking at their calendar got me thinking. I noticed the Waterloo Catholic School Board is using the facilities to put on a musical. Maybe there could be some sort of connection with the Universities and/or high schools that would see them being able to book it for use for musicals/concerts/plays etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcollins (Post 3489655)

It will be good to see the Library expand. I never did see the sense of the Centre Block proposal. Underground parking would be great, if it happens. I don't think anything prevents collaboration between CITS and the Universities, but in the case of UofW, Hagey Hall (K-W Symphony's old home) and the Modern Languages Theatre are not exactly overburdened, so I am not sure there would be much need.

Developer opposes plans for new heritage district

June 05, 2008
Terry Pender
RECORD STAFF

KITCHENER

The owners of long-vacant lots on Margaret Avenue are trying to scuttle the city's move to preserve the historic character of the Civic Centre neighbourhood.

Community Expansion Inc., a Kitchener-based company, objects to the height restrictions on new buildings proposed for the Civic Centre heritage conservation district.

"They are the only ones who have a complaint," Kerry Kirby, the chair of Heritage Kitchener, said in an interview.

"I hope the majority rules. The majority of people in that area want the heritage conservation district," Kirby said.

After about two years of study and public meetings, city councillors voted a few months ago to create the Civic Centre heritage conservation district.

Community Expansion Inc. did not respond to requests for an interview.

This is the oldest neighbourhood in Kitchener. Tree-shaded streets are lined with homes dating back to the 1800s. This neighbourhood was home to some of the city's early industrialists and community leaders.

"There are lots of old homes there that need to be saved," Kirby said.

The Kaufman family, who became famous for making boots and lumber, built mansions at 22 and 32 Margaret Ave. The Kaufman family offered to sell the buildings to the city to ensure the historic homes remained, but the city didn't want to purchase the properties.

The Kaufman mansions were sold to financier Heinz Kraushaar, who secured the permission of city council in 1988 to demolish the historic mansions and other nearby properties on Margaret Avenue. Kraushaar wanted to build condo- miniums.

After paying $1.9 million for the properties, Kraushaar razed six houses along Margaret Street to make way for two seven-storey buildings. One building would have 68 units. The second would contain 123 units.

About nine years later the city seized and sold the properties to recover unpaid taxes. The new owners of the Margaret Avenue properties, Community Expansion Inc., talked about a residential development for the site eight years ago, but nothing has happened since.

Twenty years after the landmark buildings were destroyed, the current owner is asking the Ontario Municipal Board -- a provincial tribunal that rules on land-use disputes -- to exempt a stretch of Margaret Avenue from the city's proposal for the fourth heritage conservation district.

"We only received one appeal," Leon Bensason, the city's heritage planner, said in an interview.

The creation of the district means the exterior of all the buildings, the old trees and streetscape are all protected under the Ontario Heritage Act.

Any changes to the buildings in the district that can be seen from the street must be approved by Heritage Kitchener, a committee that advises city councillors on heritage issues.

"I am disappointed we have to go through the process of preparing for an OMB hearing, but I am confident we can defend the principles and reasons behind the heritage conservation district," Bensason said.

This conservation district contains about 340 properties, mostly residential, but with some commercial retail and office uses, primarily along Victoria and Weber streets. Under the zoning changes that come with the conservation district, new buildings along Margaret Avenue cannot be higher than five floors.

On Lancaster and Queen streets new buildings are restricted to three floors.

Along Weber Street, a new building higher than three floors must be at least 15 metres from the rear property line. That rule aims to protect the old homes along Roy Street.

But it is the height restrictions for Margaret Avenue that sparked the appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board.

"I think the developer will get thrown out on his ear," Robert Shipley, a University of Waterloo professor of urban planning, said of the appeal.

"The city did an excellent study for this heritage conservation district, and the developer had lots of time before this to raise objections."

[email protected]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcollins (Post 3594793)

A developer worth his (or her) salt could see this as a terrific challenge and opportunity. That site on Margaret (the Kaufman and Augustine mansions should never have been torn down but, hey, it's Kitchener :( ) is practically the centre of the heritage district and could be densified with distinguished low-rise condos and/or townhouses that would respect and enhance the surroundings. Maybe not as lucrative as more slab highrises, but surely profitable if done right and done well. My humble opinion, anyway.

Kitchener civic district unveils master plan

May 13, 2009
Terry Pender
RECORD STAFF

KITCHENER

The parking lot where Sonia Lewis is standing could one day be part of a bustling urban space with cafes, benches, pedestrian walkways, parks, squares, an amphitheatre -- a district for the arts.

Lewis, the chief executive officer of the Kitchener Public Library, worked with the heads of the Centre in the Square, the Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery and the Registry Theatre to produce The Civic District Master Plan.

The district, which is roughly bordered by Weber, Queen, Ellen and Frederick streets is home to four of the city's most important cultural institutions.

But the spaces between those buildings, with the exception of a small park featuring a memorial to firefighters, are filled with parked cars during the day and empty stretches of asphalt over night.

Lewis and the leaders of the other cultural institutions want to see this area transformed into a district showcasing public art exhibitions, theatre and music.

There's room for a university campus, walkways connecting the library to the Centre in the Square and lush landscaping.

If the Civic District Master Plan ever gets implemented it will bring more residents downtown and help lure creative class workers to the area with a cutting edge arts district, Lewis said.

"The idea is creating attractive public spaces, making that district less about parking and more about open spaces."

Late next summer, construction will begin on a 400-space underground parking garage. It will be located behind the main library. Some of the surface parking will disappear and a public square will be built. Shortly after that, work begins on a 25,000-square-foot addition to the main library and a complete renovation of the existing building.

When city councillors voted Monday night to adopt the plan, they acknowledged there is no money available to start work. Mayor Carl Zehr likened the Civic District Master Plan to the preliminary work more than three decades ago that led to the creation of Centre in the Square.

[email protected]