The Ottawa Public Library may be getting a new Main branch sooner than expected.
“It’s time to say goodbye to the concrete bunker from another era,” Mayor Jim Watson said at a campaign rally. “The time has come to renew this important community asset.”
Since his election in 2010, Watson has said the city should not expect a new branch in the near future due to budget constraints.
In 2009 there was a $180-million plan that seemed likely to go ahead, which would have seen a new library in the city block bordered by Albert Street, Lyon Street, Bay Street and Slater Street open its doors in 2014. Another plan in 2010-2011 priced a new facility at $250 million.
“I’m not interested in a vision that’s beyond our capacity to pay,” Watson had stated in 2011. But earlier this month, the mayor brought up the issue again.
Barrhaven Coun. Jan Harder, chair of the library board, said Watson is “very aware of how libraries are important for any municipality, but especially the fourth or fifth largest in Canada, and the largest bilingual library in the world.”
Barbara Clubb, the Ottawa Public Library’s chief librarian from 1995 to 2011, says this is long overdue. “There’s no time like the present!”
Board members and the general public have been complaining about the inadequate state of the Centretown library since Clubb moved to Ottawa in 1995, “and probably before then,” she says.
A recent report about the 40-year-old facility at the corner of Metcalfe Street and Laurier Avenue showed that it would cost the city $70 million to make the current space “sort of what we need for today and kind of what we need for the future,” says Harder.
“It’s sticker shock,” she says, “and it’s throwing good money after bad.”
Obviously, an investment must be made, but “how do we make sure it’s the best investment, in the best location, at the best value for the people and businesses of Ottawa?” asks Harder. “All that we’re doing is assessing the opportunities.”
She says the city also needs to include the community. Other cities and communities made it a priority to include comprehensive community consultation and they were rewarded with positive feedback from library patrons when they opened their doors.
Harder says both she and Watson are committed to consulting the public widely before proceeding with the design and construction of a new central library.
One possible location for the new library is LeBreton Flats. The National Capital Commission is looking for a landmark of “national significance” to anchor the redevelopment of the area, although many specifics about it are up in the air.
CEO Mark Kristmanson made the announcement Sept. 11 during a Chamber of Commerce breakfast.
During a board meeting on Sept. 16, Kristmanson said the NCC will invite developers to submit their suggestions for the next phase of LeBreton Flats. He said the NCC will be shortlisting up to five developers that will make formal proposals.
“In general, what we’re envisioning is a major anchor institution south of the war museum with a complimentary development around it,” said Kristmanson. “This institution should be of regional or national significance,” he says.
Many have since speculated what the landmark could be. One of the ideas floating around is a new Canada Science and Technology Museum.
The existing location on St. Laurent Boulevard was forced to close on Sept. 11 due to the discovery of mould. But Olivier Bouffard, a spokesperson for the museum, says moving to LeBreton Flats is not likely.
“The museum currently has no plans to move or relocate,” said Bouffard.
He added although the museum is closed to the public, they are working to finalize plans to reopen it.