Residents and visitors are now able to get their first glimpses of some of the new public spaces created as part of the Aurora Town Square redevelopment and, most importantly, make use of them.
Last week, the first formal tours of the newly-completed spaces at the Aurora Public Library (APL) were conducted and community groups are already booking times to make the most out of the new facilities.
Several new meeting rooms are now ready for occupancy, along with a new reading garden for library patrons’ enjoyment, and a new Yonge Street entrance to the building, which offers improved accessibility for visitors of all abilities.
“On Tuesday we opened up officially,” said Town Square Project Manager Phil Rose. “Now we have occupancy for all the new spaces that are connected to the Library. On the second floor, that means we have two new programming rooms, a board room and a reading garden. Downstairs, we have renewed access to the Magna and Lebovic Rooms and the new façade and main entrance way for the Aurora Public Library on Yonge Street is now open and that includes accessibility improvements – specifically the installation of a new elevator that provides access to the first and second floor of the Library.
“On the second floor, there’s a new corridor which connects the program rooms and will eventually be the connection to the bridge over to the new addition at the Cultural Center and Museum. Looking forward, we anticipate the bridge will be complete by the spring as well as the outdoor square.”
Since the first portions of the project were opened, Rose says there has been a steady demand. Staff were able to get a feel for the rooms with their own internal meetings. Community groups such as the PROBUS Club have booked spaces and, beginning next month, the spaces will be used for programming from both the Aurora Cultural Center and the Town’s Parks & Recreation Department.
This week, new members of the community will be able to get a feel for the space as well as the Library is a stop-off on a Newcomer Bus Tour on October 28.
“It’s an opportunity for newcomers to the community to get a tour of the Town and a lot of the different municipal facilities,” says Rose. “One of the stops next Friday will be the Library and they will have a chance to go to the Library, understand how to get a library card, how the library works, but there is also a chance for our staff to have them come in , sit down, and talk about some of the resources and services and programs that are available to them. They will go to places like Town Hall and the new fire hall as well. That is another type of program we will be able to host in the new space next week.
“There seems to be quite a bit of demand. We have been taking a wait list from community groups so now that we officially have occupancy, we will be able to go back and reach out to them to find out what is a good time to program their space. If there are community groups or individuals looking for information on how to rent these rooms then by all means reach out to the Town or myself directly.”
Project Manager Phil Rose can be reached at [email protected].
Brock Weir, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Auroran