Sudbury city council meetings to be held in Azilda starting next month

Sudbury city council will temporarily relocate to the Lionel E. Lalonde Centre next month as construction begins on the $65 million Tom Davies Square renovation

As work begins on a major transformation of Tom Davies Square, city council meetings in Greater Sudbury are moving to Azilda for the next couple of years.

Along with Provincial Offences Court, council meetings are moving to the Lionel E. Lalonde Centre while work ramps up on the $65 million plan to incorporate the city’s art gallery and main library into city hall downtown, which has been dubbed the ‘Cultural Hub Project.’

“Temporary relocation costs include costs for hardware, technology, furniture, and moving costs are anticipated to be in the approximate amount of $200,000,” said a staff report on the plan headed to city council Sept. 8.

Noise during construction

“Permanent improvements to the Lionel E. Lalonde Centre (e.g. minor renovations and security enhancements) are being made and are estimated to be less than $100,000 and will be funded from the Capital General Holding Account Reserve.”

The site of court hearings and council and committee meetings has to move because the noise from construction makes it impractical to hold the meetings at city hall on Brady Street.

“In addition, the committee rooms on the main floor, which house the city’s Provincial Offences Court and which are also used for council and committee closed session meetings, must be vacated as they will form part of the new library,” the staff report said.

“The court will ultimately be relocated to another location at Tom Davies Square post construction, but there is a need to relocate on a temporary basis.”

Two-year construction period

A number of other sites were considered to house city council during the two-year construction period, but only the Azilda site had the space, security and access required.

“The centre is a 136,000-square-foot former high school that has undergone extensive renovations to house paramedic, fire and police services,” the report said.

“The facility is well known to the community and contains a number of rooms to accommodate a provincial offences courtroom, a council chamber and a backup council chamber/courtroom. The facility is secure and capable of safely housing the extensive hardware and technology required to conduct virtual court and council/committee meetings.”

There is plenty of parking and city transit service will be enhanced while it’s being used as a backup to Tom Davies Square.

Read the full report here.