Memorial Square and Meridian Place officially opens in downtown Barrie

Grand opening of Memorial Square A special ceremony was held the opening of a revamped Memorial Square in downtown Barrie. Mike Arsalides reports.

After a year of construction, both Memorial Square and Meridian Place officially opened in downtown Barrie.

A special ceremony was held Friday morning for the grand opening of the revamped Memorial Square.

Thecenotaph has also been relocated to make it the central focus of the square. Memorial Square is now ten times larger, allowing it to accommodate larger ceremonial events.

During the ceremony sacred soil from Vimy Ridge was laid to rest in a dedicated memorial monument next to the cenotaph. The soil is symbolic of the Canadian soldiers who fought in the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917.

At Meridian Place, the Downtown Barrie BIA and City of Barrie hosted a celebration Friday afternoon to mark the new public space.

The City of Barrie, Downtown Barrie BIA and Meridian shared the total $3.8 million cost of the project.

Meridian paid for exclusive naming rights of the space that stretches from the Memorial Square cenotaph area to Simcoe Street for a period of 25 years.

The name Meridian Place was chosen through Meridian’s Name your City Space online vote, in which Barrie residents were asked to pick their favourite name from a list of three options.