Building a central library at Pimisi Station: The location debate we didn't have

Over the past weeks, the public discussion over where to build a new central library has concentrated on just two of the three short-listed sites released late last year, plus one red-herring argument over Confederation Park.

That Ottawa Public Library and city staff would defend their choice of the city-owned land at 557 Wellington St., which was approved at Tuesday night's marathon library board meeting, is no surprise. 

Nor is it a shock that many residents who currently use the main branch at Laurier Avenue and Metcalfe Street argue the library's preferred site is too far outside the city's core.

Confederation Park never a serious option

The odd "Save Confederation Park" campaign promoted by Mayor Jim Watson on Twitter earlier this week made no sense.

It's true that a few architects recently floated the idea of a central library in Confederation Park.

And the activist group Bookmark the Core did mention Confederation Park in passing in a video making a case that 557 Wellington St. was not the best site for a new central branch.

But Confederation Park was never a real contender for a library site. It wasn't on the long list of locations being studied, let alone the short list. No one with any power was offering to put it on the table. There was no need for the mayor to "save" Confederation Park, as it was never in peril.

Pimisi Station site deserves second look

But between an actual argument for a central library in the traditional downtown and a fake argument over the fate of Confederation Park, a promising LRT-connected option has been ignored.

Of the three short-listed sites evaluated by Deloitte for a library site, the city-owned site on Wellington — known as site 8 — scored 89.7.

But coming in at a close second with a score of 86.4 is the so-called site 9.

Immediately adjacent to the city's preferred location, site 9 is on the northeast corner of Booth and Albert streets.

The land is owned by the National Capital Commission and, most importantly, is right on the site of Confederation Line's Pimisi Station.

Site 9 best transit-oriented option

With all the talk of transit-oriented development, the location chosen by the library board is, in fact, the farthest away from LRT of the three short-listed sites.

Now, 557 Wellington is only about 290 metres east of Pimisi. Still, we've heard a lot in the last few weeks from people who are concerned about the accessibility of the location for those with mobility issues, considering the city site is at the bottom of an escarpment.

Integrating a new central library right into an LRT station would go a long way to making the site accessible for people in wheelchairs or others who might not be able to climb the slope from Pimisi to 557 Wellington.

Only preliminary discussions with NCC

The Deloitte report estimates that putting the library at the NCC site will cost $8.8 million more than the city-owned site. 

It's not completely clear how this was calculated, considering that the property appraisals have been kept confidential. 

(It's also worth noting that if site 9 came within $8 million of the city-owned site, the NCC land would have scored full points in the "due diligence costs" category. But because site 9 was valued at $8.8 million more than 557 Wellington, the NCC land only scored 85 per cent of the points in that category.)

Consider how the city first acquired 557 Wellington St.: the city bought it from the NCC for $1 in 1999, in exchange for "in-kind works," according to city real estate director Gordon MacNair.

Could a similar deal be struck between the NCC and the city for site 9? Who knows? Land swaps between the NCC and the city are quite common.

And yet, both the NCC and the city confirmed that they had only "preliminary" discussions about any potential land deal.

Questions on subjectivity of evaluation

There are also questions about the seeming subjectivity of some of the evaluation scores.

For example, city-owned site 8 gets full points for "visibility," as it would allow "long-range views from the Portage Bridge and Albert Street, and short-range views from Bronson Avenue and Slater Street," according to the evaluation report.

Site 9 would allow for both short- and long-range views of Scott, Albert and Booth streets, Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway, and be visible from the LRT. And yet this site only scored 85 per cent of the points for this category.

Certainly it would be quicker to build a library without having to negotiate with the NCC. But the city is already at the table with the NCC over this exact parcel of land as that's where the LRT is being built.

And considering that a central library, especially one planned in partnership with the federal Library and Archives Canada, would fit into the mandate of the NCC, it might be possible to expedite the hashing out of a land deal. 

Council still has to approve the site selection for a new central library at its meeting on Feb. 8.  

If, as a city, we have decided that LeBreton Flats represents a promising location for this major public project, then shouldn't we take a closer look at an option that has been all but ignored before moving onto the next chapter?