The federal and provincial governments are providing almost $1.4 million in funding for a new community hub in downtown Bancroft, to be constructed on municipally owned property on Cleak Avenue.
The 4,000-square-foot North Hastings Community Hub will be an accessible, three-storey mixed-use building, with space on the ground floor for the North Hastings Public Library. The building will also include 20 affordable housing units on the second and third floors, as well as 30 to 40 public parking spaces.
The funding announcement was made virtually on Thursday (February 11) by Catherine McKenna, the federal minister of infrastructure and communities, Hastings-Lennox and Addington MPP Daryl Kramp on behalf of Ontario infrastructure minister Laurie Scott, and Bancroft mayor Paul Jenkins along with the town’s strategic planner Malcolm Hunt.
“We need better public spaces, community spaces that are accessible to everyone, including better libraries,” Minister McKenna said. “They’re at the heart of inclusive, sustainable and welcoming communities where people want to live, work and raise a family.”
The Canadian government is providing $749,960 for the project and the Ontario government is providing $624,904.
“I know the community needs this very, very much,” added MPP Kramp. “Bancroft truly is the hub of the entire region. This will provide a new space for the North Hastings Public Library, right in downtown Bancroft. It’s going to provide space not just for the library, but inclusive space for the residents and the significant influx of visitors who enjoy the area every year. It’s going to be a real anchor in the community.”
The Town of Bancroft is also contributing $500,036 to the project.
“This very unique public-private partnership — that marries all the benefits of the community hub, the library, and affordable housing development — will serve the North Hastings region and beyond very well,” said Mayor Jenkins.
Jenkins said the region has between 15,000 and 50,000 permanent and seasonal residents, depending on the time of the year, with more people relocating to the area permanently during the pandemic.
Jenkins pointed out that the affordable housing component of the project, which will be provided by Springdale Developments, is privately funded.
“This combination of two separate projects and entities in one facility provides a very, very efficient use of land and financial resources that otherwise would have made either project tough to do,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins added the new community hub will also provide an opportunity for residents, especially seniors and lower-income people, to make use of current and emerging technologies.
The North Hastings Public Library, which was founded in 1901, is currently located in an old Bell Telephone building and is “very cramped and totally inaccessible,” according to Jenkins.
“The new location will open many opportunities, and create a facility that is both accessible and inclusive,” he said, adding that the project will aid in the revitalization of Bancroft’s downtown core.
Bancroft’s strategic planner Malcolm Hunt said construction is expected to begin in early fall 2021 and take 16 months to complete.
