CBRM council told new library should be built on site of existing facility

After more than 15 years of debate over various locations, a new study says Cape Breton Regional Municipality should build a new central library on the site of the existing facility in downtown Sydney.

The Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Library board hired Dartmouth-based consulting firm Fathom Studios last year to assess five properties in or near downtown Sydney. The current location on Falmouth Street came in first.

Deputy Mayor Eldon MacDonald said he hoped Falmouth Street would be given "strong consideration."

"That would be my preference," he said.

MacDonald, a former library board chair whose district includes downtown Sydney, said the major difficulty will be finding a temporary location to house the library while the 65-year-old building is demolished and a new one is built.

But he said that would be a good problem to have, if it results in a modern library.

In addition to the existing James McConnell Memorial Library site, the board's study included the old courthouse on Wentworth Park, which several councillors rejected last year as unsuitable.

A $35,000 study found the building could be repurposed to house a library, but MacDonald said it was 60 years old and raised too many questions.

The library board study also looked at the empty Bargain Shop storefront on Charlotte Street, the empty and decrepit building that used to house the Cape Breton Post on Dorchester, and an empty lot at the corner of Prince and George streets.

Study looked at costs, nearby amenities, view

The study found the current library site scored 84 per cent of the total possible marks for criteria such as expected construction costs, environmental concerns, proximity to bus routes, daycare and other amenities, and view of the waterfront.

The empty buildings and the empty lot tied in second place with a score of 62 per cent, while the courthouse ranked last at 47 per cent.

The study, which was included in CBRM's committee of the whole agenda for Tuesday, was not discussed because the consultant was unable to be in Sydney due to the weather.

Mayor Cecil Clarke said the study will come before a future meeting, where council will have to decide where it lies on the priority list for funding.

If council does go ahead with a new library, they'll have to decide between funding the capital construction or leasing from a builder, he said.

Clarke said while the existing library location is an obvious choice for a new facility, there's no guarantee that'll be the final location.

"I've learned one thing when it comes to this topic of the library [and that] is you don't assume anything, but that is the recommendation and I will leave that for council," he said.

In 2018, a local developer agreed to build a new library on Sydney's downtown waterfront, where the Royal Cape Breton Yacht Club used to be, but in 2021, council refused to extend the deal, saying the $32-million price tag was too steep.

MacDonald said the existing library location is a good one because one of the Nova Scotia Community College's new buildings in downtown Sydney is across the street and it has been designed to connect by pedway to the library's current site.

NSCC and the YMCA a block away both have daycare facilities, as well, he said.

MacDonald said once a location is finalized by council, it will have to seek funding, come up with a design and have the new facility built.

He said he hopes a new library could be open to the public in about four years.

Clark said old estimates put the cost of a new library at $30 million, which is probably higher now with inflation.

CBRM has set aside $1.5 million toward a new library, but other levels of government would have to provide some financing, he said.

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