September 2020 Prepared by: LGA Architectural Partners Kitchener Public Library In cooperation with:

The Walter Fedy Group Resource Planning Group Inc.

Kitchener Public Library Southwest Community Library

Business Case

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Table of Contents

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................... 2

Land Acknowledgement .......................................................................................................................................... 3

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 4

Section One: Project Background and Demographics .................................................................................... 5

Background ............................................................................................................................................................ 6

Population and Demographics .......................................................................................................................... 7

A Vision for Library Service in Southwest Kitchener ................................................................................. 10

Strategic Alignment ........................................................................................................................................... 10

Trends in Libraries Today ................................................................................................................................. 13

Community Engagement .................................................................................................................................. 17

Section Two: Project Description ...................................................................................................................... 20

Rosenberg Site .................................................................................................................................................... 21

Southwest Community Library Functional Use .......................................................................................... 22

Concept Design ................................................................................................................................................. 26

Site Context Plan ............................................................................................................................................... 28

Site Concept Plan .............................................................................................................................................. 29

Site Concept Floor Plan ..................................................................................................................................... 31

Section Three: Cost Estimate ............................................................................................................................. 33

Cost Estimate ..................................................................................................................................................... 34

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................... 36

Appendix .................................................................................................................................................................. 37

Southwest Community Library Survey – July 2020 .................................................................................. 37

References ............................................................................................................................................................... 40

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Introduction LGA Architectural Partners (LGA - Project Lead), The Walter Fedy Group (WFG) and Resource Planning Group Inc. (RPG) were retained by the Kitchener Public Library (KPL) to undertake the development of the Southwest Community Library Business Case with the assistance of Kitchener Public Library Southwest Project Team. This report contains a review of the needs of the surrounding community of Rosenberg and the City of Kitchener and provides the basis for funding, and potential for the design and construction of the new library.

The purpose of this report is to determine the required size and configuration of the new library that will support the short and long-term needs of the Rosenberg community. A review of the potential needs and interests of the neighbourhood residents through an extensive community engagement process was conducted by library staff in 2019 and 2020. In addition, the study determined the required capacity and priorities of the proposed Southwest Community Library. This document includes a detailed project description of the proposed library, functional program, concept design and costing.

Project design would begin in 2021, with an anticipated construction start in 2022.

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Land Acknowledgement Kitchener Public Library offers a Territorial Land Acknowledgement prior to meetings, events, or celebrations. The text is shared here to consider during the development of the new Southwest Community Library:

As we gather today, we are reminded that the library is situated on land that is the traditional home of the Haudenosaunee (Ho-deh-no-show-nee), Anishinaabe (Ah-ni-snah-bay) and Neutral People. We recognize and deeply appreciate their historic connection to this place. We also recognize the contributions Indigenous peoples have made in shaping and strengthening this community. We are grateful for the opportunity to meet here and re-affirm our collective commitment to make the promise and the challenge of Truth and Reconciliation real in our community.

The Rosenberg community is located on the Haldimand Tract and the discovery of Indigenous artifacts including a long house and First Nation Village near the Southwest Community Library site reinforces the need to work with Indigenous partners to ensure the land, building and programming reflect the shared relationships and responsibility to this land.

Figure 1: Historic Map showing Haldimand Tract (left), Contemporary Map showing Haldimand Tract and remaining First Nations Lands (right)

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Executive Summary Kitchener Public Library strives to “welcome our community to engaging spaces where people connect, ideas flourish, and lives are transformed.” The significant population growth in the southwest area of Kitchener makes it an ideal location at which to build the system’s fifth community library, and to create a new community space with which Kitchener residents can engage.

Based on projected development and population growth patterns for the City of Kitchener, the Kitchener Public Library Board first identified the need for a new community library in southwest Kitchener in 2000. Now in 2020, the Rosenberg community is growing rapidly and core infrastructure work has commenced to support development of the community. These critical developments have prompted Kitchener Public Library to prepare a detailed business case to investigate the feasibility of the original vision, size allocation, and project budget.

This Business Case proposes a stand-alone, single storey, 15,000 sq. ft. library in the Rosenberg community. The City of Kitchener has allocated $10.1M in captial funding to the project and the cost estimates range from $10.176M to $10.31M.

Upon approval of the Southwest Community Library Business Case by the Kitchener Public Library Board, library staff will prepare a Request for Proposal (RFP) for architectural design in early 2021. Construction would begin in 2022 and the community library is anticipated to open to the public in 2023.

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Section One: Project Background and Demographics

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Background

The Kitchener Public Library system includes a renovated and expanded Central Library (2014) in downtown Kitchener and four community libraries: Country Hills Library (2004), Pioneer Park Library (1982), Forest Heights Library (1976), and Grand River Stanley Park Library (1971).

These community libraries are dynamic neighbourhood hubs that extend library service across the City of Kitchener. They are evenly distributed, each serving a catchment area with an approximate radius of 2.4 km, which is considered to be a walkable distance to library service.

In 2000, a Branch Libraries Review identified the need for a new community library in southwest Kitchener, an area of planned growth and development in the city.

Since 2006, Kitchener Public Library’s capital forecast has included a new library branch for southwest Kitchener. The project was originally planned for 2015-2016 but was deferred due to changes in the capital forecast and to fit the pace of development in the planning area.

The City’s 2020 Capital Budget and 10-Year Forecast now confirms development charges recovery funds for the new Southwest Community Library, to be allocated in 2019-2024.

The Rosenberg Secondary Plan (2011) included two possible locations for a joint library and community centre facility in the Rosenberg community: (1) a northeastern site at Abram Clemens Street and Rosenberg Way, along a planned hydro corridor and (2) on a planned District Park site at the far southeast of the planning area, along Fischer Hallman Road and south of Huron Road.

On May 18, 2011, Kitchener Public Library Board passed a resolution to endorse the proposed library location at Abram Clemens Street and Rosenberg Way.

Development plans for the Rosenberg site have been extended due to infrastructure and site servicing timelines. Critical infrastructure is anticipated to be complete in 2021.

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Population and Demographics

This section provides a community profile, including current and projected population and socio-economic considerations. In planning for a new community library is southwest Kitchener, it was important to review population and demographic indicators for both the City of Kitchener and the Rosenberg community. Demographic trends assist in the planning of library service specific to the intended community.

City of Kitchener In 2019, the population of the City of Kitchener was estimated at 261,610. Kitchener has a relatively young population with an average age of 39 years (lower than the overall average in Ontario of 41) as indicated in Table 1, below. Data from the 2016 Census notes that current residents in the southwest region are significantly younger than the rest of Kitchener: the average age in the southwest census tract region is 31.4 years (Table 1).

Table 1: 2016 Census Tract Data

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Kitchener is a very diverse community. Approximately one in four people are immigrants or newcomers, with this number anticipated to continue to rise steadily. In southwest Kitchener, this number is even higher: the 2016 Census indicates 32% of residents are immigrants (Table 1).

Rosenberg Community The Rosenberg community is expected to reach a population of approximately 20,500 to 25,000 residents at full buildout by 2041, and an additional 1,500 to 4,000 workers are expected to be employed in retail and service outlets, schools and community services, and offices in the area. The scale of commercial development that is anticipated along the Fischer Hallman corridor, along with the Southwest District Park and planned facilities, are likely to regularly attract residents from surrounding neighbourhoods to the area as well.

The Rosenberg community is planned as a complete community, transit supportable and walkable, with mixed use commercial and residential zoning.

It is currently estimated that 10,700 residential units could be built at the full buildout of the Rosenberg community. Residential development is expected to include a mix of mainly low and medium density housing, with some medium and high residential zoning along the Fisher Hallman corridor. Housing options are expected to represent a mix of affordability and the area will likely attract residents from a range of age, family size, and income groups.

Two public elementary schools and one Catholic elementary school are planned for the area, with the Catholic elementary school planned for the building site adjacent to the Southwest Community Library. All these facilities are further linked to the broader community by a pedestrian and cycling trail system. The Rosenberg site is located within close walking distance of an iXpress transit route along the Fischer Hallman corridor.

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Kitchener Public Library As libraries integrate digital collections, computer skills support, and high-tech equipment facilities into their services, they remain strong providers of core library services, such as collections, programming, and publicly accessible space. Kitchener Public Library continues to provide excellent support to residents of Kitchener:

In 2019, Kitchener Public Library saw . .

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A Vision for Library Service in Southwest Kitchener

Kitchener Public Library’s vision for library service in southwest Kitchener draws on a number of elements: Kitchener Public Library 2017-2020 Strategic Plan; City of Kitchener 2019-2022 Strategic Plan; The Rosenberg Secondary Plan 2011; emerging directions in library service; and the evolving role of the library in the community.

Strategic Alignment

Kitchener Public Library

Kitchener Public Library’s 2017-2020 Strategic Plan shares the vision and direction for library service in Kitchener, including a commitment to vibrant, innovative community libraries that are neighbourhood destinations across the city, and in new areas of development like the Rosenberg community.

The Library’s Work Together strategic goal speaks to collaboration with community partners to nurture the social, cultural, and economic success of the Kitchener community. Through two extensive engagement initiatives (Kitchener wide in 2019 and Rosenberg community in 2020), library staff were able to connect with over 7,000 people in Kitchener and 900 individuals within the Rosenberg community catchment area.

The Bold Leadership strategic goal centres on commitment to building the library and community’s reputation as innovators, creators, and game changers. The Southwest Community library will include spaces, both indoor and outside, where people can safely gather, and deliver innovative programming and services to reach people where they are.

The Foster Belonging strategic goal addresses the library as a safe, inclusive, and vibrant community space. The Southwest Community Library will be a space where everyone can gather, learn, grow and thrive, regardless of socio-economic status, race, gender identity or education. This means extending outreach to immigrant communities in new ways, to ensure everyone feels comfortable in library spaces. It involves developing creative approaches for engagement, some of which will be “outside” traditional programming.

In addition, the Ignite Community Conversations strategic goal highlights the library’s important role of supporting community members to connect, share, and learn with and from each other. The Southwest Community Library will be an important “third space” – not home, not work, not a coffee shop, but somewhere else where individuals can meet to learn, rest, relax and collaborate, with no expectations. Great things happen in third spaces: people are re-energized, they meet other like-minded individuals to share stories and feel a sense of belonging, they create content and learn new languages, learn to play an instrument or record their first demo song. They can sit quietly and stare

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out the window, or listen to their favourite music, and yes, even read a magazine or book. There is no pressure to make a purchase, to participate or produce; they can simply “be”.

City of Kitchener These strategic goals – Work Together, Bold Leadership, Foster Belonging, and Ignite Community Conversations – are also a natural fit with a number of elements of the City of Kitchener’s 2019-2022 Strategic Plan. These alignments amplify joint goals and further support the case for a library in southwest Kitchener.

In particular, the library’s strategic goals align with the City’s broad vision of a Caring Community – “Enhance people’s sense of belonging and connection by providing welcoming community spaces and programs; better engaging, serving and supporting our diverse populations and helping to make housing affordable”; and Vibrant Economy – “Build a vibrant city by making strategic investments to support job creation, economic prosperity, thriving arts and culture, and great places to live.”

Kitchener Public Library’s bold vision for the Southwest Community Library and commitment to change, curiosity, and innovation, align particularly well with the City’s priority to “develop the Make It Kitchener Strategy by 2020 with a focus on transformative actions to ensure the attraction, success and retention of diverse businesses, talent, and arts/culture across the city.”

The Library’s interest in setting a standard for innovative and sophisticated building design, and environmental stewardship in library spaces, is supported by the City of Kitchener’s commitment to achieving a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) minimum silver standard, and a gold standard where feasible, for all new municipal buildings larger than 5,332 square feet.

In addition, The Rosenberg Secondary Plan highlights a number of design objectives, many of which align with the vision for library service in the community:

• Walkability: the library will provide an appealing destination for both casual and intentional pedestrian travellers, and will be well linked to recreational trail connections

• Variety: the library site design will create significant exterior spaces for people to use, which cooperate with the surrounding parkland

• Placemaking: the building will contribute to a “high quality” streetscape by being a visually striking building that adds character

• Liveability: libraries are spaces to celebrate arts and culture in its many forms

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United Nations The library’s vision for a new community library in Southwest Kitchener, addresses 11 of the 17 sustainable development goals as defined by the United Nations’ “17 Goals To Transform Our World,” and directly aligns with 11 of the City of Kitchener’s goals as outlined in their current Strategic Plan.

17 GOALS TO TRANSFORM OUR WORLD

Vision Drawing on these compatible priorities in the Kitchener Public Library’s, City of Kitchener’s, and United Nations strategic directions, library staff envision a new Southwest community library as a welcoming, inspiring space for those who visit for quiet reprieve, and for those who visit to gather and collaborate. The Southwest Community Library will also provide vibrant, creative spaces for artistic expression through music, writing, culinary arts or digital design with programs and services to support this growing community. It will be a safe place for children to gather to learn, grow, and play. With creative, age and skill-based programs, children will learn important social skills through

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interaction with other children, will improve literacy through reading and writing, will gain knowledge of nutrition through hands-on cooking classes, and will develop confidence through a caring and supportive environment.

The Southwest Community Library spaces will be designed with flexibility in mind, with modular furniture and flexible data and electrical outputs for easy adaptability. Through innovative design, library programs will easily spill from indoors to heated outdoor spaces to support and encourage physical distancing. With its adjacency to a planned elementary school and community centre, bisected by a hydro corridor, the Southwest Community Library is envisioned to be part of a civic commons surrounded by bicycle/walking trails, trees, and greenspace, akin to a library pavilion in the park.

In its planned Rosenberg location, the library will be accessible via several modes of transportation including public transportation, bicycle, walking or by car. It will be a place where neighbourhood connections and identities develop; where people engage in lifelong learning in new and innovative ways; and where everyone belongs.

Trends in Libraries Today The public library has a longstanding tradition as a valued public institution that supports literacy and learning. But the role of the library as a dynamic community destination and gathering place is increasingly important, particularly as part of broader conversations about the importance of social unity, equality, and community building in our cities.

There are three related concepts that speak to the value of the library as a vibrant community gathering space: the library as place, the library as third space, and the library as civic commons.

Inspiring Library Spaces: The Library as Place The library as place is a concept that speaks to the importance of the library as a well-designed and inspiring community destination. The Southwest Community Library should be well positioned in the neighbourhood, with a strong visible presence that draws people in, whether to make use of library collections or public computers; to attend a training session or program; to create with new technology; to meet with others; to work or study.

The quality of space is important, too, as people increasingly expect new library to be well-designed, with inspiring spaces in which they want to spend time. The Southwest Community Library spaces must be accessible to everyone, with convenient washrooms, a variety of appealing seating options, and adequate power, data, and bandwidth. The building must be well cleaned and maintained and support environmental and green initiatives through design and function. The

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current (and possibly post) COVID-19 pandemic physical distancing recommendations will require flexible, adaptable spaces, where staff can easily reconfigure and retrofit spaces to meet demands, without calling on facility and other staff to help.

While library collections continue to be an important component of the service provided to the community, libraries worldwide have moved well beyond consumption and archiving models of service to focus instead on creation and collaboration in library spaces. Growing digital collections increasingly complement physical collections, which further facilitates a reduced collections footprint in new and reconfigured libraries. The Southwest Community Library building should be designed with reduced, low stacks for smaller, carefully curated collections that are steadily refreshed.

Reduced collections and stacks favour open building designs with maximized sight lines and room for more seating, meeting, and study areas, and collaboration and event spaces.

Above all, the Southwest Community Library should be designed for people and community first, rather than books and shelves, and toward library spaces that inspire community pride.

The library as an inspiring shared space fosters a vibrant social life in our communities and strengthens connections between the people who spend time there (Project for Public Spaces).

Inspiring Library Spaces: The Library as a Third Space In The Great Good Place, sociologist Ray Oldenburg posits that people need three places in their lives, with home as the first place, work as the second place, and an undefined third place that represents public life and community. Oldenburg writes: “The third place is a generic designation for a great variety of public spaces that host the regular, voluntary, informal, and happily anticipated gatherings of individuals beyond the realms of home and work.”

While activities such as texting, blogging, and social media increasingly play a role as virtual third spaces in peoples’ lives, Oldenburg makes clear that the most effective third places are true physical spaces in our communities, where people gather and interact: cafes, community centres, main streets, parks, pubs, fast food restaurants, libraries, and more.

There are a few key attributes that define a third space. Fundamentally, third places are community spaces that are free or inexpensive, accessible, and welcoming and comfortable. People choose to visit and spend time in third places – they are not required to be there, and can come and go as they please. Third places are warm and welcoming, and foster belonging and community pride. And third places are levelling spaces, where everyone is accepted, valued, and encouraged to participate, regardless of their background, identity, or socio-economic status.

Libraries play an important role as third places in communities. Libraries have long open hours, are accessible, and people have a lot of agency in determining when and how they engage in the library

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space. There are opportunities for quiet work and reflection in the library, but also opportunities for engagement and interaction.

Crucially, the Southwest Community Library will be a true levelling place, where spaces and services are free and available to everyone. Library services will support print literacy, digital literacy, community engagement, creative spaces, and lifelong learning, all of which are key to promoting social equality and inclusion.

Both as a community gathering space, and as a vital community service, the library will be an important third place in our community. With a growing and diverse population, the Southwest Community Library will provide a gathering space like no other - peaceful yet vibrant, interactive yet independent, a creative hub or place to consume and enjoy. Regardless if one is a senior, immigrant, young adult or bustling family, the Southwest Community Library will be designed to welcome all.

Inspiring Library Spaces: The Library as Civic Commons The idea of the library as civic commons is closely tied to notions of the library as an inspiring place and as a third place in the community.

Civic commons are shared community spaces and places where, as Mary Rowe, Executive Director of the Canadian Urban Institute and former Executive Vice-President of the Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS), states “people celebrate, learn, rest, play, trade, make key decisions, express collective aspirations, and provide for themselves and one another.”

These common spaces have long historical roots in many societies, including pre-industrial Britain, where the commons were areas where any citizen could come and graze their cattle. These common grazing spaces were fundamentally owned by everyone (Cities for People, 42).

While cafes, restaurants, laundromats, and other local businesses can be vibrant third places where people come together, civic commons are publicly-owned community assets -- buildings and spaces that are built and operated with public funds, such as libraries, community centres, parks, public squares, and trails.

Today, civic commons are public buildings and spaces that are intentionally built, supported, and promoted as shared community places, where people of all backgrounds and socio-economic realities gather to spend time together, to connect through common interests and activities, and to learn about and from each other (Civic Commons, Studio Gang Architects).

Unlike local businesses, our civic commons are not rooted in business models or driven by market demand. They are longstanding publicly funded and operated institutions and spaces.

The civic commons might be a standalone building or space, part of a civic campus of buildings connected through animated green space, or a co-located community facility with shared interior spaces. Whatever its form, the broad goal of the commons is to bring people together, offer

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enriching opportunities and experiences, and foster social interaction, community belonging, and a greater sense of mutual purpose and understanding.

As civic commons, our library spaces, services, and programs and events support civic engagement, social inclusion and equity, a culture of learning and multiple literacies, and economic vitality in our community.

The notion of the library as a place, as a third space, and as civic commons, is very much in keeping with a vision of the new Southwest Community Library as a key community destination, a vital gathering place in the Rosenberg community.

Moreover, with the Rosenberg building site, we envision opportunities for the library, elementary school, and community centre to operate as a broader civic commons, with physical and programmatic elements – green spaces, seating, planned activities and events – that animate and connect the Rosenberg neighbourhood, making it a lively multi-use community destination.

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Community Engagement

City Wide Engagement In 2019, Kitchener Public Library conducted an extensive Kitchener-wide community engagement strategy to solicit feedback to inform the library’s strategic priorities. Over 7,700 individuals shared their ideas through an online survey, stakeholder labs, and pop-up engagement sessions.

We heard that Kitchener Public Library is:

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Participants in the community engagement said they wanted to see the following in their library:

• An accessible, welcoming space • A focus on learning and literacy • Services for diverse groups of people • Quiet space for study or reading • Technology access and support • Outreach programs • Room rentals for community groups • A space that can balance the needs of many user groups • Outdoor activities and programming • Community partnerships

The role of a library in a community has evolved from one predominantly focused on serving their patrons through conventional library activities (borrowing materials, using study space, attending programs), to a place to innovate, learn, collaborate, connect and feel safe. Libraries provide a sense of belonging, provide a place to be without needing to pay for service; attend performances and workshops and provide opportunities and tools to create. Finally, libraries contribute to the health of a community by fostering economic partnerships and growth.

Southwest Community Library Engagement In 2020, Kitchener Public Library engaged specifically with residents and stakeholders in southwest Kitchener to understand their needs and desires for library service in their neighbourhood community. Over 1,200 residents participated in an online survey conducted between July and August 2020. This can be found in Appendix A.

The survey was distributed to library cardholders with postal codes adjacent to the proposed Rosenberg library site, was displayed as a pop-up on public computers in the two community library locations closest to the Rosenberg neighbourhood, and was promoted through Facebook ads to individuals within five kilometres of the new location. Posters regarding the survey were distributed to businesses in Williamsburg. COVID-19 restrictions prevented in-person community engagement at this time.

Of the over 1,200 survey respondents, 900 individuals indicated that the new community library in Southwest Kitchener would be their home library when it opens in 2023. Community members were excited to learn about the project with fewer than five individuals indicating that a new library branch was not necessary.

Survey respondents indicated that while they want to use the library for conventional services – borrowing books, using study space – they would also like to benefit from access to technology, digital tools, and cultural programming. They want a strong children’s area to support early learning

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and literacy. The library design should be welcoming with ample natural light, a space that promotes inclusion and belonging, and should incorporate sustainable building principles.

Table 2: Top 5 “Most Important” Service Priorities

Table 3: Top 5 "Most Important" Design Features

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Section Two: Project Description

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Rosenberg Site

The Southwest Community Library site is located, southwest of Fischer-Hallman Road and Bleams Road, at the corner of Rosenberg Way and Abram Clemens Street. This 97,000 sq ft. (0.9 hectare) parcel of land is bisected by a hydro transmission corridor on the southwest corner of the site.

The site is being prepared for use in an early stage of development within the Rosenberg community. Critical infrastructure and site servicing is anticipated to be complete in 2020.

Immediately adjacent to the library site is a proposed Waterloo Catholic District School Board elementary school and a City of Kitchener community centre. The idea of a community campus or hub with a connected civic common between all three buildings is an integral piece of the vision for the community.

As noted in the Rosenberg Secondary Plan (3.3.1), a library or community centre has always been a part of the planned make-up of the community, and is “intended to be an important destination along a north-south community linkage.” With the anticipated growth in the area to reach over 20,000 residents by 2031, a library build early in the neighbourhood’s development can help it to socially and culturally flourish.

The City of Kitchener hopes to create a multi-use trail under the hydro corridor, connecting to a trail running along the west side of Abram Clemens Way.

The properties directly adjacent to the library, elementary school and community centre are residential with access to the hydro corridor recreational trail, creating a natural green space/park to connect the buildings.

The library’s vision for the Southwest Community Library supports shared green spaces, and other outdoor amenity spaces with an idea for a campus-like hub to provide green and connected outdoor gathering and programming spaces for the public.

Constraints

• Hydro Transmission Corridor: A hydro corridor bisecting the southwest corner of the lot limits placement options for the library building within the site. Building is not permitted within the 150’ ft. wide hydro corridor.

• Budget and Inflation: The financial allocation for the Southwest Community Library was identified in the City of Kitchener capital forecast in 2006. A delayed project timeline – the library was initially planned for 2015-2016 - means the original funding projection may not be sufficient to cover the full cost of the project.

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• Parking and Accessibility: With Rosenberg Way serving as the community’s “main street,” (Rosenberg Secondary Plan), preserving the integrity of the streetscape involves locating parking at the back of the building, and an entrance at the front of the building. For accessibility reasons, this may mean two separate entrances to the library.

Southwest Community Library Functional Use Resource Planning Group Inc (RPG), in consultation with LGA and Kitchener Public Library Southwest project team developed a functional use plan to describe the criteria that should be considered in the design and construction of the new Southwest Community Library. This process served as the basis for the architectural design work and cost estimations completed by the consultant team.

Reviewing the library’s functional use offers context for the services and programs to be provided, and how they are able to be achieved with the space and resources available. It provides the library and City Council with a statement of what Kitchener is receiving for the capital investment, and provides criteria and specifications to evaluate emerging designs and design options.

As the design of the Library develops and materializes over time, and the vision further evolves, there may be variances from the work that was developed by RPG. A planning horizon of -20 years has been used for the Library in the preparatory work up to and including costing.

Building Form The new Southwest Community Library will be prominent from Rosenberg Way, the main street for the planned community. The library will be a distinctive, attractive institution and as such, pending the final design, will present a distinguished image reflecting the civic role Kitchener Public Library plays in the community. Given the Indigenous history of the area, it will be important to incorporate this into the final design.

The library is proposed as a stately single-story building with a prominent entrance from Rosenberg Way and a second entrance at the rear, associated with the parking lot. The building will have extensive windows and doors to promote an open and airy feel, inside and out. The library is conceived to be a pavilion in the park taking full advantage of the extensive green recreational space and the Hydro Corridor pedestrian and bicycle path that traverses this quadrant of the city. In combination with the future school and proposed community centre to be located to the west of the library, the vision is to harness the opportunities of co-locating three institutional buildings in a naturalized campus like setting and developing a host of shared programs and uses.

Functional Use Areas For the purposes of exploring what services will be delivered in the library, separate functional use areas have been identified. While these are not necessarily enclosed spaces, and customers,

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programs, and materials will regularly flow between sections, they do help to identify goals and activities that will form the scope of service for the new branch.

Entrance and Meeting Spaces The Entrance will set the tone for an easily navigable, welcoming library facility. It will project a calm openness and easy flow between the interior and exterior of the building. Meeting Spaces will be designed for flexible configuration to accommodate groups of varying sizes, to meet a range of technology and programming needs, and for after-hour access.

The Entrance and Meeting Spaces will include:

• Visible and welcoming entrance to the library from Rosenberg Way that showcase activity within the space.

• Welcome desk for library card registration, checkout, and information queries. • Self-service hold pick-up and checkout. • Good sightlines for general orientation and wayfinding. • Express and quick information computer stations. • New and notable curated collection of high demand material. • A versatile multi-purpose gathering space/program room. • A teaching/demonstration kitchen.

Digital Media and Creation Space The 2020 online survey of potential southwest library customers, noted that “digital tools to support creative projects” was one of the top five service priorities. This space will provide access to digital and live studio production and programming. It will be a high-tech space to support customer learning of new skills to produce digital content, music, and art.

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The Digital Media and Creation Space will include:

• Focus on digital and audio/video production and makerspace fabrication. • Digital and computer skill training and instruction. • Collaborative workspace. • Flexible programming and instructional space. • Enclosed studio space for audio and video recording and production activities that may

require acoustic separation.

Adult Collections Collections are thought of as the core of library services. Seventy-nine percent of survey respondents indicated that “browsing and borrowing library materials” was one of the top five services priorities. The Southwest Community Library will focus on a high-interest curated collections.

The Adult Collection area will include:

• Adult fiction and nonfiction collections, with popular titles, authors and subjects that pique and reflect the interests of the community.

• Formats that reflect the needs of the community including large print collections. • Material displayed in an appealing way on moveable shelving. • An acoustically separated quiet study room.

Children’s Space Supporting early childhood literacy has always been a core library service. “Early childhood learning” was identified as one of their top five service priorities. The Children’s Space will be a bright, playful, welcoming child-sized and friendly space.

The Children’s Space will include:

• Educational and general interest books and audiovisual items for children, to support literacy and encourage imagination and discovery.

• Variety of books for all ages, including board books, picture books, and early readers, plus read-along books, video games, movies, board games, and hand-held devices with interactive games and stories.

• Toys and games to engage children in literacy and learning activities. • Flexible and easily reconfigurable programming space. • Access to exterior programming areas.

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Teen Space The Teen Space will be a distinct area from both the Children’s Space and the Adult Collection Area. It should be a space where youth can feel comfortable and engaged, and equipped for a range of activities (i.e. hanging out, studying, using laptops).

The Teen Area will include:

• Popular teen fiction book collection with titles highlighted on display shelves. • An open flexible area for study, group learning and programming. • Interactive electronic gaming area for teens to engage online and with each other. • Easy access to Digital Media and Creation space

Staff and Operations Area Staff and Operations area will house staff workspace, shipping and receiving and materials handling for the community library.

This area includes:

• Material check-in, sorting, and processing. • Exterior material returns. • Community Library Manager office and staff workstations. • Staff amenities including washrooms, lockers and a staff kitchen. • Facility operations spaces including delivery entry, recycling and garbage and

housekeeping and maintenance equipment and storage.

Exterior Spaces Exterior spaces are a key consideration in library planning, as they shape the feel and impression of the facility and customer access to the building.

The following considerations were taken into account in developing the concept design for exterior spaces:

• Greenspace and connected pathways and shared outdoor programming spaces. • Learning garden to support nutritional literacy. • Future greenhouse supported through community fundraising.

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Concept Design

Kitchener Public Library’s Southwest Community Library is proposed to be a new standalone branch library in southwest Kitchener, located in a new residential community referred to as Rosenberg. The civil/site work is currently underway. Both the Kitchener Public Library Board and Kitchener City Council support the vision wherein the new neighbourhood branch library will form a key element in the new residential and multi-use development conceived of as a community campus – with shared public spaces such as parks, bike trails, community gardens, pedestrian pathways and connecting the new library with the surrounding amenities. The principles of the concept design outlined throughout this section highlight the wishes heard in the community engagement such as the importance of creating a visible and accessible place for the community and greater area to gather, connect and inspire.

The concept design for the new KPL Southwest Community Library is that of a pavilion in the park, and the design will manifest the following attributes:

• A reciprocal relationship between the building, the indoor programming and the outdoor amenities/landscape design.

• A series of gently rolling hills with each “in-between space” facilitating discrete, outdoor programming.

• A commemorative aspect acknowledging and honouring the nearby historical indigenous communities.

• The library will be connected to the broader community by a walking and cycling along the Hydro One Transmission Corridor and convenient public transit from Rosenberg Way.

• The library will achieve certified LEED Silver to continue the City of Kitchener’s commitment to providing environmental stewardship including such measures as a high-performance building envelope; rainwater collection for water closet supply; low consumption plumbing fixtures and an efficient electric heating and cooling and energy -efficient LED lighting.

The proposed design is a simple yet sophisticated one-story building. The interior of the library will provide ample amounts of natural light and large glazed doors and windows keeping the majority of spaces feeling warm and fresh in all seasons.

The layout of the library will provide inviting, gathering space for community events, study gatherings of all kind and flexible, enclosed programming spaces with an emphasis on creativity, making and doing. This will be achieved by providing key enclosed program rooms such as the creation area, audio/visual studios and demonstration kitchen located at strategic points and will permit ease of access after hours. Rentals of these spaces is a key attribute and goal for the library. Programming the majority of the floor area, which is a flexible open plan will be achieved by mobile furnishings with a lighting design and enhanced acoustical treatment to suit. Finally, the structural design will allow for a maximum open floor plate with the minimum number of columns that can inhibit programmability.

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The following concept design was developed to provide a graphic corollary to the functional space plan developed by RPG, and is a test fit validating both the size and siting of the building, the parking and outdoor programming. It also provides an empirical document (with the written outline specification narrative) by which the Quantity Surveyor can develop a Class D (Order of Magnitude) cost estimate. When the project moves ahead we recommend that the team re-confirm that the design and project goals are still those embodied by this document.

The concept design is composed of the Context Plan, the Concept Site Plan, and the Concept Floor Plan.

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Site Context Plan

The Context Plan provides the overall siting of the building within the both the library site proper and the adjacent community uses. Entrances to the building and connections to both the parking and outdoor programming areas is also identified. The following are the key design items to note.

• Building frontage is on Rosenberg Way, one of the new community’s primary streets and will contribute to the planned community’s focus on offering beautiful streetscapes and will support the library’s presence in the community.

• A primary entrance along the main street prioritizes access for pedestrians, cyclists and public transportation users along Rosenberg Way.

• Pathways along and within the library site will connect to the adjacent Hydro One Transmission Corridor bike and pedestrian pathways used by the local and broader community.

• Parking is in rear privileges the integrity of the streetscape and will not interfere with the multiplicity of active use pathways within the surrounding greenspace.

• Parking lot is easily accessed from Abram Clemens Way. • Opportunity for shared greenspace and other outdoor programs with proposed adjacent

elementary school and community centre to the west. • Opportunity for formal and informal exterior programming offered by the library by both

library users and passers-by alike.

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Site Concept Plan

The Site Plan indicates the relationship of all the various library programs particularly in relationship to the adjacent outdoor program areas. Entrances to the building for both patrons and staff are indicated which articulate the relationship between public and private program functions and the connections to both the parking and outdoor programming areas. The following are the key design items to note.

• Landscaping and mature trees will support the feeling of the foster the library being a “pavilion in the park”.

• A covered outdoor patio will be equipped with radiant heating equipment will extend the seasonal ability of outdoor programming to the shoulder seasons.

• A greenhouse, accessible to patrons, campus hub and community members is indicated on the plan but is a future program item only and not included in current costing.

• The landscape feature of a varying gentle and accessible topographic elements will provide a variety of program areas such as the teaching and urban agriculture learning gardens; native planted areas and outdoor patios. They will also block direct views of the parking lot.

• A canopied patio area outside of meeting room, demonstration kitchen and program room will expand the utility and desirability of these rooms for programs or rentals.

• Direct access to exterior from Children’s Area, Adult Area, Teen Area and Media Area promotes outdoor programming.

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• Optimized back of house layout and location. • Secondary entrance for easy access from parking lot for those driving to the library with 35

parking spots.

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Site Concept Floor Plan

The Concept Plan indicates the interior program location and adjacent relationships. The simple symmetrical entry locations front and back articulate the north south circulation “spine” organizing the open floor plan. The proposed folding/sliding partition creating smaller or larger events are indicated and have been test fit the proposed structural column layout. The following are the key design items to note.

• Open layout anticipates and supports the need for the library to reconfigure the space according to future needs/trends in service delivery and local demographics.

• Ample access to WIFI and power for laptops and other personal devices to promote accessibility throughout the floor area.

• Large Children’s Area that will be easily accessible from the main entrance with direct access to the outdoors and immediately adjacent to an enclosed space for programming (Large Meeting/Program Room) and washroom.

• Rear Vestibule provides after-hours access to material holds lockers and to the Large Meeting/Program Room for after-hours rental and/or programming.

• Adult collection will focus on high circulating items and holds/reserves fulfilment.

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• Creation Centre, Video/Audio Studio and Media Area will support technology use and creation such as recording, sewing, 3D printers, computer and software access, etc.

• Large amount of glazed exterior wall and operable glazing to allow for the infiltration of natural light and fresh air throughout the library.

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Section Three: Cost Estimate

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Cost Estimate

Below is the summary of the capital project budget for the Southwest Community Library, which is based on the Class D cost estimate prepared by Turner & Townsend. The Class D cost estimate (Order of Magnitude) is typically done during the pre-design phase of a project after a functional space plan is completed and there is a need to identify the investment required to realize the vision articulated. It allows for items such as inflation, location, risk, quality, size and project timing that impacts costs. The estimate, as is the convention, reflects hard cost construction only. Total project costs were developed in consultation with Kitchener Public Library.

Two possible cost options were developed in order to manage the project budget within the scope originally approved.

The cost estimate was prepared based on Q2 2020 rates.

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Notes:

• Library construction includes 10% design contingency and LEED Silver certification. • Escalation allowance of 5.25% to the point of tender in Q4 2021. • Construction contingency 5%. • Additional project fees have been calculated as % of construction and site development

costs: o Professional and Design Fees 10% o Project Management 2% o Public Art 1% o Furniture/Equipment/Technology 18% for Option 1 and 20% for Option 2

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Conclusion This Business Case presents a comprehensive review of the current and future needs of the Rosenberg community and the potential of the proposed Southwest Community Library, based on projected population and demographics of the future residents, the community engagement outcomes, the emerging trends in library service and the alignment with the strategic plans of both Kitchener Public Library and the City of Kitchener.

The Southwest Kitchener Community Master Plan and Rosenberg Secondary Plan prioritizes walkability, high quality streetscape providing a sense of place and community, diverse housing types, a celebration of arts and culture, healthy living and sustainability and an integration of public greenspace throughout. Based on the feedback provided through the community outreach engagement and the planning documentation this library will not only fit into this vision, but will also be an asset to the community.

The contents and findings of the Business Case supports the proposed standalone library on Rosenberg Way and within the context of a community campus of buildings linked by animated green spaces, shared outdoor amenities and opportunities to collaborate.

Through the collective work of the team - LGA Architectural Partners (LGA) , the Walter Fedy Group (WFG), and Resource Planning Group Inc. (RPG) and the Kitchener Public Library Southwest Project Team - several priorities were identified for the design of the proposed community library including but not limited to: flexible and open interior space that is inviting and accessible to all; ample spaces for creation and ideation; enclosed program rooms that can also double as rental venues for after-hours use; the importance of natural light within the library; easy access and connection to the outdoors; programmable outdoor space that is integrated into the landscape; and prominent and contributing exterior to the Rosenberg Way streetscape.

Equally important the proposed standalone Southwest Community Library will advance the goals of Kitchener Public Library and the City of Kitchener strategic plans and create an exciting and welcoming gathering place in southwest Kitchener.

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Appendix Southwest Community Library Survey – July 2020

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