A hotel or condo on Centennial Square?

Councillors approve moving library, studying use of some downtown land for residential development

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What is the future of Centennial Square?

The town is eyeing the possibility of building a hotel, parking structure or residential development on the property, after councillors agreed yesterday to move the library off the site.

The existing Centennial Square building -- which had to close briefly last February as a result of flooding -- is at the end of its life and needs to be replaced, town staff say.

That recommendation led town councillors to vote unanimously to build a new library on the site of the former post office on Church Street, during a Sept. 6 budget committee meeting.

But the future of Centennial Square is less clear.

The discussions involve the fate of the "downtown cultural hub" made up of the library, performing arts centre and Oakville Galleries.

Those conversations have been underway for more than a decade, with town council reassuring residents back in 2016 that there were no plans to sell off Centennial Square.

It is one of three town-owned downtown properties being looked at. The others are the former Fire Hall at Randall and Navy, and the former post office on Church.

Building a new performing arts centre on Centennial Square would allow the existing theatre to stay open during construction.

But town staff say that a boutique hotel or residential development could increase downtown vitality and provide funding to pay for the new cultural facilities.

Town councillors have agreed to add $6 million to the 2024 draft budget to pay for studies looking at: 

  • Programming and detailed design work on a replacement central library on the former Post Office site
  • A new performing arts centre on Centennial Square
  • A waterfront park and parking opportunities on Centennial Square
  • The potential for a boutique hotel and residential development on the Centennial Square site
  • Ways to accommodate the Oakville Galleries at either the former Fire Hall site or alongside the library on the post office site
  • Use of the former Fire Hall property north of Centennial Square for additional housing or improved parking

Aiming to have library built by 2028

According to town staff, replacing the 60-year-old Central Library is now a priority.

"The post office site provides a prime opportunity to create an updated flagship library that will take the Town of Oakville and its residents into the next 60 years," said the town's community development commissioner Neil Garbe.

Staff are proposing planning and design work begin quickly, with construction underway by the fall of 2025 and substantial completion of the new library by 2028.

Underground parking is being considered as part of the new development.

A detailed report on costs and design options, including the possibility of integrating the Oakville Galleries on the site, is expected next spring.

'At the mercy of the developer'

Residential development is also under consideration for the old Fire Hall site, possibly incorporating Oakville Galleries into a mixed-use development.

But that option is not being warmly welcomed by the contemporary art organization.

Currently spread between a facility adjoined to the downtown library and a historic home on the Gairloch Gardens property, Oakville Galleries does need a new home, said executive director Séamus Kealy.

He said the three-storey Gairloch house has "serious problems," including a roof that's falling in, asbestos that needs remediation and a heating and ventilation system that doesn't work in some parts of the structure.

But Oakville Galleries is proposing a stand-alone museum on the Fire Hall site that would bring "a world class contemporary art program to Oakville's downtown core."

The vision: adapt the existing fire hall building, turning the garage into a gallery space and the tower into light attraction. Then build an addition to include a rooftop restaurant.

“There are such wonderful potentials with this architecture,” said Kealy, who was brought to Oakville this spring to reimagine the galleries after leading major contemporary art museums around the world.

Read more: New gallery director envisions transformation of Downtown Oakville

Oakville Galleries board member and renowned local architect Bill Nankivell also urged councillors to envision an world-class future for the gallery.

"We've had a very long history of trying to find an appropriate home for the Oakville Galleries – something that is worthy of the town, of the community, that speaks to the importance of contemporary art in our society." 

Nankivell warned that combining the gallery into a residential development would mean delays and uncertainties.

"Our concerns are around the timelines on that," he said. "We would really be at the mercy of the schedule of the developer.

"We think that would leave the gallery behind by many, many years before that would come to fruition."

Nankivell noted that the gallery would also be excited to be co-located on the post office site with the new library.