East Gwillimbury to spend $334K leasing old coffee shop

Former coffee shop, sales centre to be new Civic Centre Annex

Yorkregion.com
April 11, 2019
Amanda Persico

Many residents remember the sketchy coffee shop at the northeast corner of Leslie Street and Mount Albert Road. It had a constant smell of sewage and dishwater-like coffee.

The long-standing coffee shop turned sales office for new homes in the area will be fully converted into office space for the town -- creating the Civic Centre Annex.

Currently, the Civic Centre, which is more than 20-years-old, is at capacity, with about 90 full-time, part-time and contact employees.

“We’ve intensified as much as we can,” said the town’s community parks, recreation and culture general manager Aaron Karmazyn of the Civic Centre space.

“Our bullpen area was intensified. There is some empty office space being used by two to four people.”

As a growing municipality, East Gwillimbury needs more space.

As a short-term solution, the town will be leasing 19003 Leslie St. and converting the 1,800 square-foot building into a space for 16 town staffers.

The Civic Centre Annex could be home to the town’s building and planning department, making it a one-stop-shop, Karmazyn said.

The town will spend $334,000 over four years to lease the former coffee shop, which includes monthly rent between $3,500 to $4,400 and about $3,000 a month in utilities.

“I would sooner see it go into this building,” said Ward 3 Coun. Cathy Morton of the Civic Centre. “I can’t see sending that amount of money on a building we don’t own.”

At last look, a Civic Centre expansion would cost upward of about $4 million, which would also include upgraded mechanical and HVAC systems, said town chief administrative officer Tom Webster during a recent committee meeting.

While “$400,000 is nothing to sneeze at, it’s not $4 million,” he added.

But councillors questioned the exorbitant price tag.

“It’s just adding office space,” said Ward 1 Coun. Terry Foster.

“We don’t need architectural designs. We don’t need more atriums. We need a rectangular building with a common hallway down the centre with offices on both sides.”

In 2016, East Gwillimbury spent about $114,000 to repair a third of the roof at the Civic Centre.

That same year, the town spent about $280,000 to redesign the south entrance, adding a court yard and accessibility entrance.