By Galen Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
In 2025, Wellesley Township will likely take the first step in what will be a long process for determining what to do with the old Wellesley Village community centre and arena lands.
After discussions about what to do with the portion of the former arena and community centre lands north of Maple Leaf Street were deferred to budget deliberations by council earlier this year, the subject was once again brought forward by staff during the township’s Dec. 5 budget meeting.
“(Township staff) reached out to a planning consultant just to discuss the whole project and potential options for how we might want to move forward on it,” director of planning Tim Van Hinte said during the budget meeting.
“We had a really good meeting. … Really, at the 30,000-foot level, the first step, we feel, is to create a scope and work for the cost of whatever we’re going to do that moves us from general ideas – we have a number of general ideas, you all have them and we’ve solicited them from the public – to some type of conceptualized plan or options, you could say, up to three options. That could be really anything. … We think the first step is to establish an overall direction and intent.”
The old Wellesley Village Arena and Community Centre were closed when the new Wellesley recreation complex opened. Council passed a resolution in 2019 that the green space in the village’s downtown would remain as parkland, leaving the area where the buildings sit for potential redevelopment.
A survey was conducted in January of this year to obtain public feedback on the potential redevelopment of this land. It was an anonymous survey and 419 responses were received. The most common theme coming from the survey responses was that a mixed commercial-residential use is the most preferred option for that portion of the property.
While council reviewed the results of the survey – which also included feedback around the establishment of a new library building or child-care centre on the property – at the time, councillors weren’t ready to move the project forward and calls for more public engagement were made.
“The first step is establishing a concept, some principles and objectives, and this step really involves existing information sources … and the consultation results we already have (as well as) understanding what council’s objectives are, what are local concerns, community needs and potential outcomes for, I’m going to say, redevelopment of the land, but it doesn’t necessarily need to mean entire redevelopment of the land,” Van Hinte said, noting that first step and each of the two subsequent steps to follow in this process will involve additional public consultation and engagement.
Once that information and any feedback collected on potential options for the property is compiled, Van Hinte said a report will then be brought back to council for the development of no more than three concrete concepts for further discussion and public feedback. Following public engagement, council will identify a preferred concept, which may be one of the original concepts or a mix of two or more of them.
The final step in the process will involve the analysis of costs, market conditions and the process for seeing that preferred concept to fruition before a final decision is made and the real work begins.
For now, however, Van Hinte asked council to give the go-ahead so staff can bring back a report and costs for that first step in the process at the next budget meeting Dec. 18 so it can be included in the township’s 2025 draft budget.
“I think it’s really important that in Step 1, there is more community engagement on it,” Coun. Derek Brick said. “I don’t feel that the one online survey that we’ve done, we can call engagement on a project of this scale. For me to support it, I want to make sure community engagement is part of it, and that’s in-person sessions in other communities, not just Wellesley (Village), that allow people to come and talk about it and give their perspective. The feedback that I’ve heard is, ‘We weren’t heard in the original survey.’ “
Several members of council, including Mayor Joe Nowak, also expressed concern with using the word “redevelopment” when communicating with the public about the future of the old arena and community centre lands. Instead, council landed on the word, “reimagine,” to ensure all potential options for the property are considered, including the potential for adaptive reuse of the arena and community centre buildings, as the project moves forward.
Council ultimately agreed to have staff bring back a report on the first step in this process so it can be considered for 2025, whether it’s officially included in the draft 2025 budget or brought forward as an additional item in the new year.
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