Council to mull old library’s future
Posted Mar 5, 2013 05:27:47 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
With the new Halifax Central Library becoming more developed every day, the future is still unclear for the 60-year-old Memorial Library it’s replacing.
Regional Council will be looking at staff’s report today outlying what options the city has to choose from.
The building could become a Centre for Mi’Kmaq Governance and Culture, after the Assembly of Mi’kmaq Chiefs expressed a keen interest in taking over the building last year. The building also could be torn down and turned into a park. Council could also keep the building up if they want to maintain its architectural heritage. Or, Council could bring simply bring up a new idea.
If the building isn’t used or it doesn’t become a park, it must be turned over to the Province.
Staff is urging Council to make the decision sooner rather than later, since the cost of the soon-to-be empty building would be around $140,000 a year.
Halifax Public Libraries has already said the building can no longer serve the their needs as a library, and would be too costly. The new building on the corner of Spring Garden and Queen Street in Downtown Halifax is set to open in the fall of 2014.
Council will debate staff’s recommendation Tuesday afternoon.
