Sudbury council approves Junction East alternative
The City of Sudbury finally has an alternative to its Junction East project.
On November 28, council approved plans for the development of a cultural hub at Tom Davies Square.
The project will involve retrofitting properties at 200 Brady St. and 199 Larch St. to include a new Central Library, the Art Gallery of Sudbury and the Sudbury Multicultural and Folk Arts Association.
The new direction for the project stems from a council resolution in February, where Council directed staff to explore alternatives for the Junction East project. That project had been on the books at the city since June 2022, but its budget was thwarted by increasing costs due to a change in location and inflation.
In February, council directed staff to explore to alternatives to Junction East. The first was to investigate the possibility of retrofitting existing infrastructure and community-owned buildings in the downtown. The second was to redesign Junction East Cultural Hub to a total project cost of $65 million.
The retrofit of Tom Davies Square, which currently houses city hall, emerged as the best alternative.
The scope of work will see some municipal services from 200 Brady St. to the provincial tower at 199 Larch St., which the city also owns, and which is approximately half empty.
The project plan calls for the municipal offices to move to the upper floors of the provincial building to make room at 200 Brady St. for the central library and 2,000 square feet for the Sudbury Multicultural and Folk Arts Association. The Art Gallery of Sudbury would take up the bottom two floors of 199 Larch St.
The total budget for the project is $65 million.
Staff will now work on issuing a request for proposal (RFP) for the design of the new Cultural Hub and Municipal Services Relocation projects. It expects to award the RFP in early 2024, with schematic design work to begin in the second quarter of the year. The design for the renovated facility will continue to follow and build upon the vision and themes identified during the Junction East community engagement process in 2021.