Contact: 
Dave Barrow, Mayor, 905-771-2493, dave.barrow@richmondhill.ca
Neil Garbe, Chief Administrative Officer, 905-747-6366 neil.garbe@richmondhill.ca

Long-awaited Civic Facility Coming to Downtown

RICHMOND HILL – Richmond Hill Council made a momentous decision Wednesday and voted to build a new civic centre and community amenities in the centre of Town. This much-anticipated decision means the Town-owned land at the southwest corner of Yonge Street and Major Mackenzie Drive, known as the Civic Precinct, will be turned into an all-season community space with new municipal offices, an expanded Central Library and public gathering areas for the community.

“Now is the time!” said Mayor Dave Barrow. “This will be the first time Richmond Hill will have a Civic Square and Town Hall in one place.”

The project includes a public square, a reflecting pool/skating rink, amphitheatre, pedestrian promenade and pedestrian plazas. Once built, this will be a place where people gather to celebrate and have fun as a community. Through numerous public consultations including the visioning process conducted in 2012, the residents of Richmond Hill made it clear that a central gathering space is needed for the community. 

“Up until now we have been in retrofitted buildings,” said Mayor Barrow. “This project will meet our capacity for future growth to serve the residents and provide a gathering space back in our downtown core.” 

This new Civic Precinct is also expected to be a catalyst for downtown revitalization since it provides a destination and a workplace that will draw hundreds of people to the downtown every day. 

“Our Civic Precinct will be a milestone legacy project for Richmond Hill,” said Karen Cilevitz, Ward 5 Councillor and Chair, Civic Precinct Task Force. “It will become both a place of municipal business and a gathering place for our residents to value and enjoy, now and into the future.”

A preliminary estimate of the total project cost is $191,497,000. The cost for the Project will be refined as the Project is further developed. The cost includes the Civic Precinct Project and an expansion of the Central Library. The Library Board will undertake a feasibility study in 2017 which will be used to develop options for integrating the library expansion into the Civic Precinct Project.

Richmond Hill currently has about three quarters of the estimated budget in Reserves. Council directed Town staff to present a draft financial plan in 2017 with options to fund the remaining portion. Staff will also present a governance structure and timeline for the Civic Precinct. 

The current municipal offices at 225 East Beaver Creek Road are expected to exceed capacity by 2023.  

Backgrounder – People Place Richmond Hill: Yonge & Major Mackenzie

The Civic Precinct is located in downtown Richmond Hill at the southwest corner of Yonge Street and Major Mackenzie Drive. Considered to be an important central site in the Town of Richmond Hill, the Town has intermittently considered building new municipal offices there since the late 1970s. Richmond Hill's downtown, known as the "heart" of Richmond Hill, encompasses the Town's historic village core dating back almost two centuries.

In the mid-2000s, through several Town initiatives including the People Plan Richmond Hill consultation process, the community indicated a renewed interest in the area. In response, a Town Hall Relocation Feasibility Study was completed in 2008. The study concluded and recommended that it was feasible to build a new Town Hall at the site. In addition, the public indicated that they would like to see additional public space opportunities explored at the site. As a result, the Civic Precinct Project was undertaken to define the vision and purpose of this location.

The Civic Precinct Project represents an opportunity to create a community-focused area in the downtown with a unique identity and sense of place. It will also serve as a demonstration site reflecting goals and principles of the Town's Strategic Plan, Official Plan, Downtown Secondary Plan, Economic Development Strategy and Cultural Plan.

The vision, concept and implementation strategies were identified in the draft Civic Precinct Plan in October 2013 [SRCAO.13.18]. The vision for the Civic Precinct and how it can become a "people place" was determined along with the community through the People Place Richmond Hill community engagement process.

A vision and key directions for the Civic Precinct were developed based on input from the community. “People and connections” was the common overarching theme heard throughout the visioning consultation and the answer to “what makes a people place?” The community told us what they envision Richmond Hill’s Civic Precinct to be:

The Civic Precinct will be a people place – a place where people want to be, a place where they can connect – with fellow citizens, their community, their local government, and with their surroundings.

Consistent with the vision, ten key directions emerged from the visioning consultation. The first nine key directions describe what people want to do in the Civic Precinct and many of the components they would like to see. In the Civic Precinct, people want to:

1. Have fun 
2. Meet and gather 
3. Celebrate or honour 
4. Be entertained 
5. Walk and connect
6. Think and reflect
7. Access information and services
8. Shop
9. Dine

The tenth key direction relates to the desire to see innovative and inspiring design in the Civic Precinct, including specific features that could support that direction:

10. Innovative and Inspiring Design
    1. Distinctive architecture
    2. Innovative design elements and amenities
    3. Public art
    4. Green oasis
    5. Water features

It was also identified that the Civic Precinct should be usable both day and night, during all four seasons, and enjoyable and accessible to all ages, cultures and abilities. These overall directions, combined, contribute to the vision of the Civic Precinct as a vibrant people place.

More information about the Civic Precinct project can be found in the Vision and Concept Report (revised) from November 2012.