Despite showing up in St. Albert’s latest downtown revitalization plans, a new civic building is a far off reality, say city councillors.
New civic buildings feature prominently in conceptual maps produced by Urban Strategies Inc., the city’s consultant for the downtown area redevelopment plan (DARP).
Three planning options for the downtown were unveiled to the public at open houses last month, with each showing potential improvements like more residential development, street alignment changes, a parking garage, town square and civic building.
According to Bob Treidler, general manager of business and strategic services, while the designers can easily draw a civic centre building on a conceptual map, it’s another matter to make the project a reality.
“They said these places would be good to use for [a civic centre],” said Treidler “If we lay out the city this way, we can put this here.”
A new civic building with administrative offices was the focus of a space needs study several years ago to relieve a space crunch at city hall. The previous council identified the corner of St. Thomas Street and St. Anne Street as a possible location, but the $25-million-plus project was put on the back burner due to funding constraints and lack of political support.
Treidler said the city would have to wait and see how the DARP process plays out in the coming months before the civic building issue is resolved. He added it’s possible the community would not support such an effort.
Mayor Nolan Crouse realizes administration is running out of space at city hall, but a new civic building isn’t a top priority.
“I think, sometime in the next 20 years, we’re going to be forced into major investments in civic expenses,” he said. “We need to have a plan for the future.”
Crouse said he wasn’t prepared to say what he wanted to see inside the potential civic centre, saying that he wasn’t sure what are the city’s current infrastructure priorities.
“We’re not into that level of detail yet.”
One idea that has already been suggested involves moving the library out of St. Albert Place into a downtown civic space. Coun. Lorie Garritty concedes such a move would be beneficial for both the library and administration, but isn’t sure it’s the right move.
“It would open up space in St. Albert Place,” he said, but added he believes it is possible to come up with an arrangement for a potential new building that would benefit the broader community.
For Coun. Roger Lemieux the idea of even having a civic centre for the city’s use is a far-away dream. The DARP review has helped him realize the city is still a long way off from realistically looking at a new civic building.
“There have been no business cases presented,” he said. “I’d be surprised if the new council even deals with it.”
However, Lemieux said he would like to see the historical factors behind St. Albert Place preserved and move staff from the leased offices in the professional building on St. Anne to the new centre, if one should come about.
In April, Urban Strategies will return to St. Albert to discuss technical details with city staff and the steering committee before presenting a second plan to the public in late May.
