Pickering Council, at a special meeting on March 27, has endorsed Option D out of the four options it was presented with.
The city had retained KPMG and Hariri Pontarini Architects to review and present options for the next phase of the City Centre Project, after deciding to defer all work on the project at a special in-camera council meeting on March 11 last year.
The current investment estimate was not disclosed in the statement. In the 2020 Capital Budget, the total project cost was estimated at $187,311,000.
The options presented included:
Option A – (Recap) Legacy Concept
Option B – Legacy Revisited Concept: The City and PTC would swap the city-owned lands with PTC-owned lands and the city receive the lands (west of Glenanna Road) as parkland dedication from PTC. This option is subject to negotiation an agreement between PTC ownership and the city.
Option C – Multiplex Concept: The city receives parkland dedication lands (west of Glenanna Road) as part of PTC development and city would sell South Block (south of Esplanade South) to subsidize project costs.
Option D – Facilities on the Park Concept: The city connects Esplanade Park, an important component to establishing a City Centre, by relocating Esplanade South to the south and introducing the Library and Seniors & Youth Centre adjacent to the park, creating a view from Glenanna Road.
A city statement said the options presented were generally consistent with the city’s original City Centre vision, which included a new Central Library, new Seniors & Youth Centre, new Performing Arts Centre, new Public Square, new Administration Space Expansion, and residential development.
View details and concepts of each option in Report CAO 05-23.