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Mississauga Celebration Square Redevelopment (CS&P Architects) COMPLETE

jeicow

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Placemaking Taking Shape in Mississauga's Downtown Public Spaces

Jan 16, 2008

The City of Mississauga is moving forward with plans to redevelop two City Centre squares and develop a new downtown park, based on the principles of "Placemaking." The squares are located between the Civic Centre and the Central Library, while the new park is located west of the Living Arts Centre and north of the recent Daniels development.

"We are anxious to move forward with these two major downtown public open space projects," said Community Services Commissioner Paul Mitcham. "Although different in scope and function, these projects will benefit from a common design philosophy and level of detailing, which will ensure the parks and open spaces throughout the downtown are connected and work together, fulfilling the goals of the 'Placemaking' vision."

City staff and a consultant team are working towards developing the projects' draft concept plans for presentation to the public this spring.
Construction of the new park is scheduled to begin in late 2008. Redevelopment of the Civic and Library Squares is scheduled to start in 2009 and will be completed in phases. The completion of these two major projects will begin to implement the Vision Concept Plan established through Placemaking, and to support the on-going programming efforts of My Mississauga.

Two firms, both locally-based, award-winning design companies recognized for innovation in the development of successful public spaces, have been retained to prepare detailed plans for these City projects: CS&P Architects will lead a team of urban designers, landscape architects, engineers and a market consultant to develop a detailed design plan, including concepts for a public market in various formats, and a detailed cost feasibility study for the redevelopment of the Civic Square and Library Square. Janet Rosenberg + Associates (JRA), a landscape architectural firm, which is also a sub-consultant to CS&P Architects on the redevelopment of the Civic and Library squares, will prepare detailed design plans and construction documents for the development of the new park.

This initiative is the result of extensive public engagement conducted in 2005 and 2006 by the City's Community Services department, in collaboration with Project for Public Spaces (PPS) of New York City, using the principles of "Placemaking" -- turning public spaces into vital community places. Community stakeholders, including citizens, arts and sports groups and businesses were consulted to develop a Vision Concept Plan for public space surrounding the Civic Centre. As a result of public meetings, workshops and web-based reviews of draft plans, the final document, "Building Mississauga around Places: A Vision for City Centre Parks and Open Spaces in the 21st Century," was completed in January 2007.
 
well, good for Mississauga...I wish them well in their efforts...:)
 
Oh this is good news. Those two areas are so empty feeling and scattered. It will be nice to hopefully see something more welcoming there.
Can't wait to see what they come up with!
 
Mississauga Civic Square Redevelopment (CS&P Architects)

looks like Missy is planning on going forward with some of the recommendations that the study by PPS suggested.....

Mississauga mulls $40M city hall piazza

Posted: January 26, 2009, 9:13 PM by Barry Hertz

By Stacey Askew, National Post


Walk through any town in Europe and you will eventually pass through a bustling piazza, plaza or town square, filled with shoppers, the occasional busker or relaxing residents.


Mississauga council is considering becoming a little more European and looking into constructing its own downtown piazza in front of City Hall. Councillors hope to transform their windswept no-man’s land into a place to which the downtown inhabitants and further off suburbanites can flock, much like their European counterparts have done for centuries.


“I think the time is right for this project in a major way because now we have the people,†Mayor Hazel McCallion said during a council meeting last week.


The population of downtown Mississauga has grown quickly in the last four or five years, said Randy Jamieson, senior project manager of community services, which is responsible for the project plan. The project is currently in planning stages.


“At this point it’s a concept and depending on the level of funding we receive [from the government] we’ll move ahead,†he said.


On a recent weekday, Mississauga’s civic square was dead, both in morning and late afternoon. Occasionally a skater or two will step onto the small rink as City Hall workers bustle past them towards a somewhat mysterious, hidden door in the apparent front of the town’s most important building.


Across the street from City Hall lies Library Square, sparsely decorated with little potted trees. It too seems devoid of life, aside from a few patrons rushing through the cold to their vehicles. Even in summer, it is rare to see anyone linger here.


The proposal would make two squares, currently divided by City Centre Dr., into one. The Library Square and Civic Square would be refurbished and connected by a walkway that would still be used as a street, but could be easily closed for events. The redesign would also include an expansion of the Mississauga art gallery and a change to the façade of the City Hall that would make the entrance more prominent.


Other proposed additions are tree-lined paths, a market, a fountain that becomes a skating rink and a permanent stage. The square would approach the size of Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square.


Councillor Nando Iannicca said in the current economic climate this kind of project is ideal, as it would be easy to start and provide jobs. “This job is job ready. If we need a building permit we’ll give ourselves one in the morning,†he said, causing giggles from some observers.


Councillors showed enthusiastic support for the project, although the issue of cost was raised.


Ms. McCallion said money should not be a factor. “Council should give the money if we can’t get it from the federal government, or provincial.â€


The estimated cost of the redevelopment is about $40 million.


The square idea is due in part to Mississauga’s “Building a city for the 21st Century†project, one of the primary goals of which is to create a lively downtown with public spaces for people to gather.
 
I agree that if they can't get any money from the government, the city should just go ahead and use it's own money for it. They should probably just do that in the first place. It would be really great to have something like this in MCC.
 
I don't understand why they would expect federal money for something like that. (If that's possible, maybe we can get a couple hundred million dollars for a new monumental square downtown, or at least the cash for the NPS project). I'm also skeptical as to how many jobs that would create.

But good for Mississauga. May it bring suburbanites out of their backyards.
 
ooh. I hope this involves tearing down those walls that surround the city hall. I never quite understood the logic behind those walls... all that is missing was the barbed wire on top and the prison ambiance would be complete. :)
 
Toronto Star

Mississauga civic square revamp hits 'right notes'
January 27, 2009

daebf05c468ea8cd28edf3646a4f.jpeg


PHINJO GOMBU
URBAN AFFAIRS REPORTER

Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion is one of the first to acknowledge that the civic square in front of her beloved city hall desperately needs a dramatic – and potentially expensive – makeover.

Residents of her city, she says, often visit the pleasant downtowns of the old communities incorporated into Mississauga, such as Streetsville, Clarkson and Port Credit. But getting them to hang out in the official civic square is a trick.

"It's very difficult for us to get people to come here," McCallion acknowledged last week after she and other councillors got a sneak preview of an ambitious $40 million project that aims to do what the initial square didn't do – become a place to which people gravitate.
 
Based on the rendering, that square looks like it will be wind swept and really cold in the winter and without trees it will be really hot in the summer.
 
Based on the rendering, that square looks like it will be wind swept and really cold in the winter and without trees it will be really hot in the summer.

You mean like Nathan Phillip Square? ;) Also this is how piazzas look. But there are trees lining the edge. They're just leafless due to it being a winter sketch.
 
Yea, hopefully they're learn a thing or two from NPS - make the square a bit more intimate.

The desire for all that open space is so you can have very large gatherings!

But I think if Mississauga stopped pretending to be the center of the universe they'd learn that they would be WAY better off with something along the lines of a park / skating rink / smaller gathering area.

It would attract more people.
 
I hope that's not the best rendering they have...the ideas they are floating seem solid for the most part. But $40 million is a lot for this.

linking the two squares - good
flattening the grade between them - good (but tricky considering the parking garages underneath both)
getting rid of the wall along City Centre Dr - good
larger skating rink - strange, considering the current one is only busy for a few hours a day, a few months of the year.

I still see the amphitheatre in the rendering, which perplexes me. That's the single largest failure of the current square by most accounts...why keep it?
 
...$40 million is a lot for this.

I agree. Are 'cost plus' contracts common in municipal purchasing? The contractor would estimate the work and show receipts for materials purchased in progress. They would tack on reasonable labour and profit.

Otherwise, of the 40mil, 10 mil is a windfall for about 2 people.
 

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