SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
It will be fall before city council once again turns its attention to vacant parcel of land at the corner of 50 Avenue and 50 Street known as the 50/50 lot, said Mayor Mark Heyck.
That would push any decision back right into when the city is refining its budget for the next year.
"The timing should dovetail nicely with the start of budget season," Heyck said in an interview Wednesday.
This conceptual drawing of how a library and cultural centre on the downtown 50/50 lot could look was presented during a consultation in November. - illustration courtesy of City of Yellowknife |
A report summarizing a series of consultations on what to do with the lot will be presented lose to a full year after councillors opted to defer streetscaping part of 50 Street near the lot until a more concrete vision could be developed for the space now used as a parking lot.
City spokesperson Nalini Naidoo said staff completed the work requested by council and were awaiting direction on when to bring the report forward.
Coun. Julian Morse said it's his understanding the report will come to council in the coming months with a new proposal.
Heyck said he has yet to see the report but expects a broader range of options than previously considered.
Earlier options mainly focused on a plaza with new entrances to Centre Square Mall. Council asked for additional options, including a building devoted to both a library and an arts and culture centre on either 50/50 or on three vacant lots on 50 Street owned by the city.
Heyck said consultation sessions held early this year in Dettah and Ndilo resulted the city hearing a desire to have a greater recognition of indigenous people reflected in whatever the city does with the space.
The city wants to redevelop the 50/50 lot and 50 Street space as part of its goal of downtown revitalization.
Despite waiting months to present the report and pushing it into a traditionally busy time for council, Heyck said he believes there's time to come to a conclusion.
"We've been talking about the 50/50 lot for many years and we've owned it for the past two years," Heyck said. "I think we have done enough public consultation and it's time for council to try to build some consensus on where we want to go with it, whether it's a city-lead initiative, a private sector initiative or a combination thereof."
The mayor said he favours the idea of a library on vacant lots on 50 Street, an area between the Gold Range and the Raven Pub purchased in 2012 for $975,000.
He requested city staff include a line in the 2017 budget for a study of options to relocate the library from its current space in Centre Square Tower.
Last November, as part of the public consultation, constructing a library and cultural centre on 50/50 or on those vacant lots was considered. Simon Taylor, the consultant hired by the city, roughly estimated such a structure could cost between $20 million and $40 million.
