Gateway To Yonge

Richmond Hill’s civic precinct

NRU
Sept. 14, 2016
By Leah Wong

After years of public consultation, Richmond Hill council has given a plan to build a new civic centre and create a central gathering space in the centre of the town the green light.

With the town continuing to grow and its population becoming more diverse, Ward 5 councillor and Civic Precinct Task Force chair Karen Cilevitz told council last week that it is challenging to create a sense of community.

“In order to evoke commonality in a far-reaching community we need to have a central identity both physically and psychically,” Cilevitz told council. “Our civic centre will give us a common bond.”

At a special meeting last week council approved a precinct plan for a new civic centre on town-owned land at the southwest corner of Yonge Street and Major Mackenzie Drive. Cilevitz said the new facility will sit at the gateway of Richmond Hill’s downtown and its heritage core.

The need for a central gathering space in Richmond Hill was identified by residents during a 2012 visioning process. Subsequently the town undertook a lengthy consultation process to determine what amenities should be included in the space. As a result, the precinct plan includes a public square, skating rink, amphitheatre, pedestrian promenade, pedestrian plaza and expanded Central Library.

The preliminary costs for the civic precinct project and expanded Central Library is estimated at $191.5-million. Staff has identified available funding sources - development charges, sale of assets, federal gas tax, cash-in-lieu of parkland and reserve funds - which could be used to cover up to $148-million of the project costs. This includes up to $65.2-million from the town’s
Community Enhancement & Economic Vitality Reserve Fund. If the town were to utilize all of these sources, funding of about $32.7-million would still need to be found.

At last week’s meeting acting corporate and financial services commissioner David Dexter told council that staff recommends only using half of the reserve funds for the civic precinct project, which would leave $65-million of the project unfunded, but would ensure funding is available for future initiatives. Dexter added that staff ’s initial recommendation is to use debt financing to cover the unfunded portion, although council could also consider increasing property taxes or introducing a special levy to cover the unfunded costs.

Council has not made any decisions on the financial model for this project. Rather it has asked staff to report back in 2017 with a draft financial plan, governance structure and timeline for the project. Additionally, the library board will undertake a feasibility study next year to determine how the extension can be accommodated in the civic precinct.