Airdrie Main Street Square Real Estate Inc. (AMSQ) – set up by the City in 2004 to manage its real estate holdings – is proposing the renovation and expansion of the existing Airdrie City Hall, building of a brand new public library, relocation of the Lutheran Church of the Master and building of retail bays along with two multi-floor parking structures. The proposed $83 million redevelopment was presented to local stakeholders at an invitation-only event Sept. 8.
According to Deputy Mayor Kelly Hegg, AMSQ collects rent from tenants in Main Street Square and then a dividend is paid back to the City. Over the course of the past 10 years, Hegg said approximately $5 million has been paid as a dividend.
“The idea of potentially using AMSQ land holdings to generate greater economic return and satisfy the demand for library and City facilities space became an idea that required some research,” he said. “In 2015, the board commissioned a Civic Centre Master Plan with one key objective and that was to develop a comprehensive plan for a civic centre that includes City Hall, library, commercial retail, office space and gathering open spaces.”
Hegg said the AMSQ board had looked at four different concepts for the civic centre, choosing the proposed option in October 2015. He said at the time, the consultants – Ernst & Young Orenda Corporate Finance Inc. and Nyhoff Architecture – were also asked to provide more detailed financial details about the plan. These were presented to the board in December 2015 and phases one and two of the planned Civic Centre Master Plan were approved “in principle.”
Lynda Phelan, City of Airdrie communications manager, said a website – thesquareairdrie.com – has been set up which includes all the information and reports the AMSQ board had received.
“(We put it on the website so that) anyone, anywhere could look at it, evaluate it, ask questions and send us their feedback through that mechanism,” she said. “We will turn that raw feedback over to the board for its consideration.”
Phelan said the feedback along with the information from the consultants will be presented to Airdrie City council Oct. 3.
However, Sept. 14, the City’s Sarah Kucharski, communications advisor, said in an email to the Airdrie City View, “Considering the importance of this issue and the public questions and interest following the master plan being made public, the AMSQ board is considering delaying going to council to allow more time for public participation.”
Phase one involves the demolition of the Lutheran Church of the Master to make room for additional retail space. According to Keith Nyhoff, one of the architects who worked on the conceptual drawings and plans, a new church would be built to the east of the existing church building.
Garth Hein, church council president, said the church and the AMSQ have an understanding to move forward with the project.
“They will buy (the) property, rebuild the church and we will have our church,” he said. “The AMSQ and the City have said they will have other spots for us to meet if we did lose our spot.”
Hein said the church’s congregation has voted and approved moving forward with the project.
Also as part of phase one, the north and east wings of the existing retail building would be demolished with all tenants moved into the new building built on the old church site. Phase one would be started in 2017 and completed in 2018.
In phase two, Nyhoff said the existing library would be demolished and a new 44,000 square foot library constructed. The existing City Hall would be renovated and a temporary expansion space erected to the north. A parking structure would be constructed and the civic square in front of the civic centre would be completed.
According to information on the project website, the total projected cost for phases one and two is approximately $48 million.
Concerns about the lack of public consultation undertaken with the project and questions about the actual cost of the project were raised almost immediately after the Sept. 8 presentation. Mayor Peter Brown, chair of the AMSQ board, is one of those who said he has concerns. (See story on page 3.)
Residents will have a chance to hear the same presentation given at the Sept. 8 event at a public event Sept. 27 from 5 to 8 p.m. at City Hall.
