‘Having lived this myself since 2012 … there is a need for a final decision about a library.’Published May 08, 2025 • 7 minute readAccording to a siting analysis report, the location of the James L. McConnell Memorial Library is considered the top choice to located a new central library. Photo by CAPE BRETON POST FILEIt now appears a decision on where a new central Cape Breton Regional Library in Sydney will be located won’t come until the fall.“Over the two summer months, we will be consolidating all the things that have come forward from district budget meetings, from council proceedings, the budget process itself, so that this fall the term priorities will go forward,” Mayor Cecil Clarke said following Tuesday’s committee of the whole meeting at city hall in Sydney.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle content“A (new central) library will be part of that, and then we’ll start making decisions as a result of that this fall.” Rob LeBlanc, partner, founder and director of planning for Fathom Studios (formerly Ekistics Planning and Design): “We asked a variety of questions that were geared towards getting a better understanding of what the public needs might be for a new facility in the future, and how the current library is used today.” Photo by IAN NATHANSON/CAPE BRETON POST15-YEAR PROCESSClarke said he is well aware how long it has taken to even get to the point of having to make a firm decision on what has now reached a 15-year process.That process included a study from Ekistics Planning and Design that outlined a need for a new centralized facility, the concept of a waterfront location — and the rejection of said location, a study and potential refit of the old Cape Breton County Courthouse — and the stalling of that location in favour of seeking other possible options.Read More Sydney’s McConnell library location preferred site for centralized operation: report Cape Breton Regional Library plans events to mark 75th anniversary “Having lived this myself since 2012 … there is a need for a final decision about a library,” Clarke said, referring to his time helming CBRM’s top job between 2012 and 2020. “The existing building has run its course. … We’ve done enough studies. I don’t think I need another study on a library. What we need is decision making.”Article content‘OTHER PRESSURES’But now with Clarke back in the mayor’s chair, the library decision isn’t the only matter that has to take priority. “The library has to be put into context with other pressures we have,” he said.“I look at the library, I look at the Centre 200 needs for rehabilitation and renewal, I look at the New Waterford arena that needs a rebuild, just similar to the (Glace Bay) Miners Forum. … We also need additional office space that we’ve tapped out of here at city hall.“So it all has to go on to one list for decision making.” From left, Martin MacLellan and Pat Bates, volunteer members of the new library build committee, along with Tracey Wilson, co-ordinator of community support at the Cape Breton Regional Library in Sydney, and Theresa MacDonald, the library’s deputy regional librarian, all listen in on Tuesday’s presentation on the library’s siting analysis. Photo by IAN NATHANSON/CAPE BRETON POSTSITING ANALYSIS REVEALEDBut as far as CBRM council goes, 11 of the 12 councillors finally got to hear a consultant’s siting analysis report postponed from an April 1 meeting (only District 2 Coun. Earlene MacMullin could not attend Tuesday’s meeting).Rob LeBlanc, partner, founder and director of planning for Fathom Studios (formerly Ekistics Planning and Design) outlined to councillors and the mayor a ranking of five potential locations for the new central library, based on a steering committee’s evaluation.Article contentAs well, LeBlanc said, “We went through (an) online survey … we got some input back on some good results, and as always in the CBRM, we got lots of lots of responses — I think we had close to 400.“We asked a variety of questions that were geared towards getting a better understanding of what the public needs might be for a new facility in the future, and how the current library is used today.”SITES SELECTED AND CRITERIAAs the Cape Breton Post previously reported, the five sites the steering committee deemed most suitable include:• The current James L. McConnell Memorial Library property on Falmouth Street, between Bentinck and Charlotte streets• The former county courthouse near Wentworth Park• The abandoned Bargain Shop building on Charlotte Street• CBRM-owned land at the corner of Prince and George streets (close to Centre 200)• The former Cape Breton Post building at 75 Dorchester St.“What’s important is really the development of the methodology,” LeBlanc said, “so this can be applied to other sites if other (ones) come up in the future.”Article contentLeBlanc broke down those sites in terms of several suitability criteria for scoring each site, based on such factors as providing 45,000 square feet of usable space, room for 25 parking spaces for staff and additional spaces for visitors if possible, a downtown location and on a main thoroughfare to create economic spinoffs, close to transit and active transportation corridors, and close to cultural recreational and educational facilities. A preliminary sketch of a new build for the central libary on the site of the current McConnell library in Sydney, which could potentially include a rooftop garden and a pedway to connect to the NSCC Sydney Waterfront Campus. Photo by CONTRIBUTED/FATHOM STUDIOTOP, BOTTOM CHOICESTopping the suitability list? The McConnell site, ranked at 84 per cent — but not with the current 65-year-old building, as it has reached its end of life, LeBlanc said.“It’s a CBRM-owned parcel now, at 25,000 square feet,” he told council. “Currently, there’s the potential to purchase an additional kit (of land), which we could expand that footprint.“There’s about a one-storey drop from Bentinck Street down to Charlotte Street so we’re having to deal with the grade issues on the site. It fronts on Charlotte Street; it’s right across from the new entrance to the new NSCC facility. (And) it’s already known as the library site.”Article contentAt the bottom of the list? The courthouse option — first proposed in 2022 during a previous administration council meeting but only getting as far as a 2024 feasibility study from engineering firm Stantec — ranked at 47 per cent.“It would require the adaptive reuse of the existing building, which in some cases can be even more expensive than a new build,” LeBlanc said. “It is hidden behind some built buildings, so it has low visibility. And past use as a courthouse may have some negative connotations to some communities.”The three remaining choices each ranked at 62 per cent. The old Cape Breton County courthouse near Wentworth Park now appears to be a fifth-ranked contender for a potential new central library in the CBRM. Photo by IAN NATHANSON/CAPE BRETON POST FILESITE AS NEW BUILDLeBlanc delivered his site analysis as a meeting presentation — and thus councillors and the mayor did not receive any recommendations or motions that required a vote at this time.Still, he said, the steering committee felt the McConnell site offered the best possibility.As LeBlanc told council, preliminary designs from the Fathom Studio site analysis show that a new-build McConnell library would feature multiple levels (three storeys on Charlotte Street, two on Bentinck, parking tucked into the back side of Bentinck Street.Article content“As for underground parking,” LeBlanc said, “we gave you those 25 spaces. There was access for the delivery vehicles up on the street, and the opportunity for either some retail frontage on the ground floor of Charlotte, or offices down on that level.“But really the bulk of the library facility would be on the upper two storeys, (plus) the potential for a rooftop penthouse and a public space on the rooftop.”While under construction, a temporary offsite location would be needed, LeBlanc added. CBRM Mayor Clarke: “What we have to look at today is the fact that we have to plan forward realistically of what a replacement will be based upon where we are with building costs and the like.” Photo by IAN NATHANSON/CAPE BRETON POST$30-MILLION PRICE TAGNo monetary costs were provided for the potential project, but the mayor said afterward he was eyeing a ballpark $30-million price tag — about $2 million less than what the abandoned waterfront library proposal from Harbour Royale Development Ltd. ended up costing in 2021.“The last time, there was a financial agreement put in place for the library was $21 million that all three levels (of government) were looking at doing, and it wasn’t deemed to be sufficient enough in that day by one of the proponent representatives,” Clarke said after the meeting. “It moved on — and that $21 million ended up in road work in Glace Bay as a result.“What we have to look at today is the fact that we have to plan forward realistically of what a replacement will be based upon where we are with building costs and the like. $30 million is reasonable. Less than that would not, I think, produce an outcome achievable.” Gordon MacDonald, CBRM councillor for District 1: “We’re wondering why it’s long and late (to decide this) because the board doesn’t want to accept what we’re talking about in council.” Photo by IAN NATHANSON/CAPE BRETON POST FILEArticle contentMCCONNELL VS. COURTHOUSEThe issue of choosing the McConnell site versus the courthouse option, however, wasn’t lost on several councillors.“We’re wondering why it’s long and late (to decide this) because the board doesn’t want to accept what we’re talking about in council,” said District 1 Coun. Gordon MacDonald, referring to the courthouse option. “We should be looking at what council has looked at in the last term. But the board’s not happy … and that’s unfortunate.”However, Deputy Mayor Eldon MacDonald, who had previously served as chair of the library’s board of directors, disagreed with that assessment.“The library board undertook this opportunity to make sure that we did our due diligence to understand what the best location for library was,” Eldon MacDonald said. “It had nothing to do with the library board. Not being satisfied with the board every location? That had nothing to do with it.“In regards to it being delayed, there’s no one more frustrated on this table than me about delays. The building and the waterfront (plan) that was originally proposed was passed unanimously to go ahead by the previous council, and then, a month later, it was changed back to going against that and moving to the courthouse option.” CBRM Deputy Mayor Eldon MacDonald: “There’s no one more frustrated at this table than me about delays.” Photo by IAN NATHANSON/CAPE BRETON POSTArticle content“I kept all options on the table, including one that I wasn’t a fan of, because I felt it was a proper thing to do. The courthouse building for me, when I look at it and the information I have — and I’ve travelled libraries across this country — my personal feelings about that is, it potentially could be one of the most unsafe libraries in the country.”COSTING PERSPECTIVEFrom a costing perspective, District 7 Coun. Steve Parsons said a decision cannot be made until those definitive figures are presented to council.“Until we get some costing down here, I don’t think we can make a decision,” he said.“Because as I look at these details, some of the negativities and the specific location, we’re talking tens of millions of dollars. And that’s something our funders don’t want to look at — they want to look at the different options, plus a cost analysis for value for dollars.Article content
Fall decision for potential library site
