City councillors want Old City Hall transformed for public use, not retail

Staff have been asked to study further public uses and consult the public on what to do with Old City Hall.

Thestar.com
Oct. 5, 2015
By Jennifer Pagliaro

City councillors have shot down using the historic Old City Hall for retail space, arguing it should be opened for public use.

With concerns about the suggestion the heritage building could be into a mall, on Monday government management committee voted unanimously to further study possible public use for the site, including a long-debated city museum. They also voted to consult the public on those uses.

“We want this most important ... heritage building to be a showcase, a place that we can have our own residents and visitors and go in and revel in the beauty of the building and to experience and understand better the history of our city,” said committee member Councillor Janet Davis. “It is an astounding building. It is not a building that we want to turn into a retail outlet. I think that’s pretty clear.”

Public backlash against what many felt would turn the heritage property into a mall was swiftly felt when the report was published last week, Davis said.

That report detailed analysis from consultants Avison Young on how to best retrofit the 164,389 square foot building, which is currently being used as a courthouse on Queen St. The conclusion was that a “retail centre that contains a mix of food service, leisure, event and civic uses” was the “highest and best use.”

Though Councillor Rob Ford ballparked the building’s resale value at more than $200 million, staff say the “unique” Old City Hall would actually only bring in $75 million when needed renovations were considered.

Though Ford ultimately supported the motion to study public use, he said the city still needs to look at ways to make money from the property.

“Even if we did have a museum - I’m just thinking out loud here - at Old City Hall, it would only take up not even a quarter of the space. Now what are we going to do with the rest?” Ford mused during the debate. “I was just thinking a nice hotel, like compare the Chateau Laurier, like an old historic hotel with the museum, maybe with a fancy restaurant because you’ve got all this open space that we could make a lot of money on. I think we should keep our options open.”

Committee also backed a push from Councillor Josh Matlow to factor in discussion of a museum, what has been a consideration for several decades. That request to staff is now spelled out in the direction to study public space.

“We have hundreds of artifacts that are currently shuttered away from public view in warehouse that tell the story of this city,” Matlow told committee. “And we are one of the few cities in the world that don’t actually have a city museum that celebrates and commemorates and shares the story of civic life over the past couple of centuries, and it’s a shame.”

Municipal lawyer George Rust-D’Eye spoke to committee in support of that idea, having previously been part of a task force on a possible city museum that included former mayor Art Eggleton. That task force, he said, identified Old City Hall as the perfect location for a museum.

“It would highlight our most important heritage building,” said Rust-D’Eye. “A retail mall would be an entirely inappropriate use for that building.”

Currently, the province is renting the space at almost $41 per square foot for total revenue to the city of $6.7 million. The city is currently negotiating a new lease with the province. On Monday, committee voted to look at possibly increasing the rent up to $45 per square foot.