Saving Regina Masonic Temple brings an award
By Will Chabun, Leader-Post June 1, 2013
Tag Archives: Central Branch
May 4 – Jane’s Walk at Central Library
Central Library RPL: Beauty + Utility
Guided by: Bernie Flaman, Florence Stratton, Martin Gourlie, Jeannie Mah, and perhaps others
Saturday, May 4th
4:00 PM, 1.5 hours, Central Library, 12th Avenue and Lorne Street, front steps
The Modernist Central Library has just celebrated its 50th birthday. To celebrate the beauty and usefulness of this building which we love, we have gathered a few people to talk about a specific part of the architecture of Central Library that touches them, a special place within the library that they love, or a library service that they could not live without. In the spirit of Jane’s Walk, we welcome contributions from the audience. We hope that this chorus of individual voices singing the praises of Central RPL will reinforce the importance and significance of this distinctive modernist public building in the downtown cultural and architectural landscape of Regina. We will conclude with a 5 pm tour of the exterior of the Masonic Temple next door with one of the Masons.
More information about other Jane’s Walks in Regina http://www.janeswalk.net/index.php/walks/canada/regina/
RPL Survey re Central on Now
The Regina Public Library is currently conducting a survey about library services and trying to gauge support for the amenities that they would like to see connected to an upgraded Central Library.
Apparently it is quite a long survey, one person interviewed said there were questions like :
Do you think there should be a movie theatre or restaurant nearby?
Do you think it should be located within a mall? Near a shopping centre?
Do you think it should be located within a mall? Near a shopping centre?
It would be interesting to know what the questions are.
The library is also conducting some targeted on-line surveys and will do a patrons survey in the future.
One hopes that the questions keep all of the options open, including the renovation, rather than the deomolition, of the modernist Central Library, which the majority of people contacted in our FRPL survey said they would prefer.
P3 Funding – CCPA Article
The article noted below highlights that the cities aren’t necessarily keen on getting the federal P3 Canada funding because of the implications of the loss of control and higher amounts for interest. This reluctance was expressed by some City of Regina councilors when the potential PPP funding for Central Library and for the wastewater treatment plan were discussed. The councilors were not necessarily totally enthusiastic about the funding but felt that they would be seen as negligent and irresponsible by Regina taxpayers if the Library Board/City didn’t apply for the funding.
—– —-
In the April CCPA Monitor there is an article by David Macdonald entitled Flaherty’s 2013 Budget actually cuts infrastructure funding. The article notes that the recent federal budget has reduced infrastructure funding from $1.25 billion (annually) to $210 million and that the majority of the funding will not be issued for another seven years.
Apparently many cities don’t like the way the joint public and private participation requires them to give control to the corporate partners and that long-term projects will incur more interest.
PPP Canada Launches Fifth Call for Applications
It is still very possible that the RPL Board will apply to this fund, soon or in the future.
———From the P3 Canada Fund <Info@p3canada.ca>, April 15, 2013——–
PPP CANADA LAUNCHES ROUND FIVE OF THE P3 CANADA FUND
Round Five to focus on projects that develop the Canadian P3 market
Ottawa, Ontario, April 15, 2013 – Today, PPP Canada launched the Round Five call for proposals for the P3 Canada Fund.
Canada has become a world leader in P3 procurement and the Government of Canada is committed to supporting the further development of the Canadian P3 market by encouraging provinces, territories, First Nations and municipalities to consider the P3 model in delivering their public infrastructure priorities. As part of this commitment, PPP Canada’s focus in Round Five will be on public infrastructure projects that promote jobs and stimulate economic growth.
“Last year, we were very encouraged by the quality and viability of the applications we received,” said John McBride, CEO of PPP Canada. “Under Round Five, we will continue to look for applications that deliver optimal Value for Money by demonstrating substantial involvement by the private sector throughout the project’s life cycle.”
Once again, PPP Canada will give priority to public infrastructure projects in the following priority areas: transportation; water/wastewater; solid waste disposal; and brownfield redevelopment of contaminated sites. In addition, PPP Canada will give priority to projects that create optimal Value for Money, taking into account the qualitative and quantitative factors, and that include long-term financing (i.e. DBFOM).
To date, the Government of Canada has announced P3 Canada Fund commitments toward 15 P3 projects across Canada, totaling over $715 million to projects with more than $3.2 billion in capital costs. Further announcements are expected in the coming months.
PPP Canada works with other levels of government to promote the effective use of P3s through P3 knowledge sharing, capacity building and the strategic use of the P3 Canada Fund. By offering advice and expertise to its clients, PPP Canada ensures proper due diligence is followed across all stages of the project development life cycle. The result is a well-structured procurement that is well planned and follows best practices ensuring transparency, fairness and competiveness.
About PPP Canada and the P3 Canada Fund
PPP Canada has a mandate to improve and increase the delivery of public infrastructure by achieving better value, timeliness and accountability to taxpayers, through P3s.
PPP Canada acts as a leading source on P3 matters through knowledge development and sharing. In addition, the Corporation provides expertise and advice in assessing and executing P3 opportunities at the federal level as well as leveraging greater Value for Money from federal investments in provincial, territorial, municipal and First Nations infrastructure through the P3 Canada Fund.
The P3 Canada Fund is a merit based program, designed to incent the use of P3 procurement in delivering public infrastructure projects. Eligible projects can receive up to 25% of the direct cost of construction supported through non-repayable contributions, repayable contributions, loans or loan guarantees. The $1.2 billion is committed over a 5 year period starting 2009/10 and is allocated to PPP Canada on an annual basis, subject to approval by Parliament. The Government of Canada recently announced in Budget 2013 its commitment to renew the P3 Canada Fund by an additional $1.25 billion beginning in 2014.
Round Five: Information for Applicants
To assist Round Five applicants in preparing their submissions to the P3 Canada Fund, PPP Canada has developed an Application Guide which provides detailed information of the Fund’s eligibility criteria and evaluation process and detailed instructions on how to prepare a submission. In addition, PPP Canada has created a P3 Business Case Development Guide which outlines the necessary steps to the development of a comprehensive and robust P3 business case. Project sponsors whose applications are retained for further analysis will be required to follow this Guide in preparing their Business Case for submission. Both Guides are available for download on PPP Canada’s website at www.p3canada.ca.
The application deadline is June 14, 2013 in order to be considered under Round Five. All interested applicants are encouraged to contact PPP Canada or their designated contact, identified in the Application Guide, to discuss the viability of their project before submitting an application.
PPP Canada, Attn: P3 Canada Fund, Round Five, 100 Queen Street, Suite 630, Ottawa, ON, K1P 1J9, 1-877-947-9480, pppadministration@p3canada.ca
For further information on PPP Canada and the Government of Canada P3 Canada Fund investments visit: www.p3canada.ca
For media inquiries, contact:media@p3canada.ca or 613-947-9480/1-877-947-9480
Friends Call for Renovation Design for Central Library
NEWS RELEASE: Monday March 25, 2013
REGINA, SK — The Friends of the Regina Public Library (FRPL) are calling for a design for Central Library that is based on renovations and additions, rather than demolishing the current building.
After many months of requesting that material be made public, the Friends’ efforts were successful when the RPL Board gradually released documents related to the Central Library between October 25, 2012 and February 14, 2013. “Some of this material is more than two years old, and we don’t understand why it couldn’t have been released earlier,” said Joanne Havelock of FRPL. “However, we are glad to have it available to the public now.”
“We appreciate that considerable effort has been put into the planning documents and although the original design that came out in 2011 will not be implemented, many of the concepts will be carried forward into the next design,” said Havelock. “There are both interesting and controversial ideas in the Development Plan and the public needs time to review and understand these options.”
FRPL is asking that print copies be made available at each of the library branches.
On Sunday February 24, 2013 FRPL held a public meeting to draw attention to those reports and encourage people to examine their contents. Some key questions came forward at this meeting.
The Library Board had said that it would be holding consultations in March, 2013, but this has not occurred. FRPL would like to know when the consultations will occur and what kind of consultation process will be used. In addition to proposed phone and on-line surveys, will there be a single public meeting or a series of meetings? How will participants be able to share their views?
Participants were surprised that the Development Plan did not include an option for renovation and/or expansion of the current Central Library Building. A survey conducted by FRPL found that Regina residents were quite concerned that the building could be demolished. FRPL is asking the RPL Board to request that the architects prepare a design for renovation and expansion of the current Central Library building. From the Building Assessment report this is not only possible, but more cost-effective and would preserve the heritage of the current modern
FRPL would also like to RPL Board to clarify whether it will be submitting a new proposal to the P3 Canada Fund and whether this would be done for the June 30, 2013 deadline. The FRPL survey found that residents felt that the library building should remain publicly-owned.
FRPL will be making a presentation to the Library Board at 4:30 pm on Tuesday March 26, 2013 at the RPL Boardroom, second floor of Central Library.
Presentation to RPL Board, March 26, 2013 FRPL to RPL Board re March 26, 2013 mtg – final
Residents Want Central Library to Stay
NEWS RELEASE: Monday March 18, 2013 “Residents Want Library Building to Stay”
REGINA, SK — The Friends of the Regina Public Library (FRPL) are releasing the results of a survey taken to gain opinions about potential upgrading of Central Library. The survey found that:
- Over half (62%) of the participants were aware of the plans to demolish the Central Library building at Lorne and 12th Ave. and replace it with a multi-use facility containing private businesses in addition to a library.
- Almost 90 percent of respondents stated that they cared if the Central Library building was demolished. Over 60 percent cared a lot.
- Ninety-nine percent said it was important to them that the Central Library building remains publicly owned.
- Ninety nine percent were concerned that they had not received details of plans to enter into a public private partnership.
- The majority of people (79%) were concerned with how the project would affect their taxes.
Central Library Development Plan – now available
The last of the planning documents related to the upgrade of Central Library has been released.
Central Library Development Plan (2010). Available at http://www.reginalibrary.ca/cld/?q=node/24
The intent of this work is “to identify RPL’s requirements for the proposed Central Library, beginning from the foundation of the Library’s strategic directions documents, and ending with physical planning concepts.”
Please take a look at this document. Very interesting material!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION
Background…………………………………………………………………….1-1
Descriptions of the Work Performed…………………………………..1-2
Participants …………………………………………………………………….1-3
SECTION 2 DEVELOPMENT PARAMETERS
Introduction …………………………………………………………………….2-1
Strategic Parameters
Introduction……………………………………………………………….2-3
Mission …………………………………………………………………….2-3
Vision……………………………………………………………………….2-3
Values………………………………………………………………………2-3
Service Plan ……………………………………………………………..2-5
Principles ………………………………………………………………….2-8
Role of the Central Library ………………………………………….2-9
Service Delivery Context
Introduction……………………………………………………………..2-13
Background …………………………………………………………….2-13
Social Trends…………………………………………………………..2-14
Trends In Information Management ……………………………2-15
Trends in Technology……………………………………………….2-17
Civic Context …………………………………………………………..2-19
Geography………………………………………………………………2-22
Climate …………………………………………………………………..2-22
History of the Regina Public Library ……………………………2-22
Comparator and Benchmark Libraries ………………………..2-23
Functional Parameters
Introduction……………………………………………………………..2-25
Overall Functional Guidelines ……………………………………2-25
Public Services ………………………………………………………..2-30
Library Infrastructure Services …………………………………..2-44
Other Services and Functions ……………………………………2-47
Physical Parameters
Introduction……………………………………………………………..2-49
Design Objectives ……………………………………………………2-49
Functional Space Types……………………………………………2-58
Gross Space Requirements ………………………………………2-59
Functional Components ……………………………………………2-60
SECTION 3 SITE AND EXISTING FACILITIES ANALYSIS
Introduction …………………………………………………………………….3-1
Site Analysis …………………………………………………………………..3-2
Existing Facilities Analysis………………………………………………..3-8
Building System Analysis ……………………………………………3-8
Facility Functional Analysis …………………………………………3-8
Resource Planning Group Inc. 2010 January 15
SECTION 4 MASTER PROGRAM
Introduction …………………………………………………………………….4-1
General Planning Criteria………………………………………………….4-3
Site Design Criteria ……………………………………………………4-3
Building Planning Criteria ………………………………………….4-11
Component Planning Criteria…………………………………………..4-15
Introduction……………………………………………………………..4-15
A. Community Forum and Conference Facility
A1 Concourse/Wintergarden ………………………………4-17
A2 Film Theatre (Auditorium) and Seminar Facility..4-18
B. Library Services
B1 Orientation and Information Services………………4-19
B2 Browsing Library…………………………………………..4-20
B3 Children’s…………………………………………………….4-21
B4 Young Adult’s ………………………………………………4-22
B5 Literacy and Outreach Services ……………………..4-23
B6 Fiction Collection and Services ………………………4-24
B7 Technology Centre, IT and Virtual Services……..4-25
B8 Non-Fiction Collection and Services ……………….4-26
B9 Prairie History Room …………………………………….4-27
B10 Dunlop Art Gallery ………………………………………..4-28
C. Support Services
C1 Library Director’s Office…………………………………4-29
C2 Administration and Staff Amenities …………………4-30
C3 Collections Development, Acquisitions/
Cataloguing & Processing……………………………4-31
C4 Operations and Maintenance …………………………4-32
D. Ancillary Space
D1 Retail and Community Services ……………………..4-33
D2 Long Term Expansion Space…………………………4-34
E. General Support Space
E1 Parking ……………………………………………………….4-35
SECTION 5 PHYSICAL PLAN
Introduction …………………………………………………………………….5-1
Process to Develop Planning Options ………………………………..5-2
Objectives/Terms of Reference for Planning……………………….5-3
Unconstrained Library Building Layout on
Unconstrained Site …………………………………………………….5-4
Contextual Layouts ………………………………………………………….5-7
Option 1 – Stand-Alone Library……………………………………5-7
Option 2 – Library Integrated with
Comprehensive Development………………………………….5-9
Resource Planning Group Inc. 2010 January 15
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Regina Public Library – Central Branch Interim
Existing Facility Analysis (P3A Architecture) ………………..A1
Appendix B: Layout Options ……………………………………………..B1
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged architecture, Building Assessment, Central Branch, Central Library, City of Regina, design, development plan, Friends of the Regina Public Library, FRPL, history, Knox Metropolitan Church, libraries, Masonic Temple, public consultation, public private partnership, Regina Public Library, RPL, Saskatchewan
RPL P3 Canada application available
In June 2011 the RPL applied to the P3 Canada (Public Private Partnership) fund for the large redevelopment of Central Library Building. The application form has finally been made publicly available on the RPL website. http://www.reginalibrary.ca/cld/?q=node/23 and is available on the FRPL website. Regina Public Library – Application Form with Supplementary Notes – Round 3
The RPL has since withdrawn this application from the P3 Canada fund process, because the Masonic Temple property was not available. But it is still very useful to read it for the plans that were there, since aspects may be used in the next design for Central Library.
Is it possible that they might reapply in the future?
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged architecture, Budget, Building Assessment, Central Branch, Central Library, City Council, Friends of the Regina Public Library, FRPL, history, Masonic Temple, Masons, modernist, P3, public consultation, public private partnership, regina, Regina Public Library, RPL, Saskatchewan
Central Library Building Assessment – please review
It’s very important to take a close look at what is being said about the Central Library building! The RPL is planning consultations about new designs in March and people should be well-informed and prepared for these consultations. The RPL Board continues to say that the building is old and needs to be replaced. Please forward thoughts or comments you have to FRPL.
The Building Assessment about the condition of Central Library building
that FRPL has been requesting for a while has finally been made available on the RPL website http://www.reginalibrary.ca/cld/?q=node/22 and is also available here. Building%20Assessment%20Summary%20-%20201206
This document has some critical statements about the condition of the building and the potential for adaptive re-use.
“This report was originally prepared in 2009 and has been updated to
reflect the master Program prepared by Resource Planning Group. The
report consists of a facility analysis by P3A as Architects, JC Kenyon
Engineering- Structural, MacPherson Engineering- Mechanical, Ritenburg
and Associates- Electrical, Resource Planning Group- Library Programming
and Functionality. The report reflects the requirements of the Regina
Public Library from a technical and functional perspective and reviews
issues related to building re-use.”
Friends of the Regina Public Library 