Greater Sudbury enjoys a large and diverse arts and culture scene for a mid-sized industrial city in Northern Ontario.
As in many other cities of this size, Sudbury's cultural organizations face enormous financial challenges in doing their work, and the difficulties in obtaining sufficient funding have forced even our flagship institutions to contend with a critical lack of infrastructure. The city is taking steps to address this problem, but the proposed solutions, notably the Junction, require too many compromises in terms of cost, location and sustainability.
Our proposal, titled The Link, is to redesign and repurpose the old St. Joseph's Health Centre as a community cultural hub. Sold to Panoramic Properties in 2010, the building has lain empty for most of the past decade, leaving it dilapidated and of little use to anyone. It is easy to be cynical about this situation, but we prefer to look at it as an opportunity for adaptive reuse. Because of its size and proximity to so many other community institutions, the site is well-suited to house three of the city's legacy projects: the convention/performance centre, the art gallery, and the main branch library. It sits just outside of the downtown core along an important transportation artery connecting the city centre to Bell Park, Science North, the university, Health Sciences North, and shopping and residential districts beyond. As a result, it benefits from pedestrian access to the downtown, as well as transit and road links to the South End and other urban neighbourhoods. The 4.5-acre property also includes ample parking and is well-integrated with Bell Park, creating an expansive space for large community events and offering plenty of room for additions. As part of our commitment to adaptive reuse, and in recognition of its aesthetic value and contribution to the building's character, the existing RISK mural on the hospital facade, currently the largest in Canada at 80,000 square feet, would be preserved in the redesign. Translucent and transparent modules would be introduced to bridge the different areas of the building as well as perforate the building envelope to admit natural light and link the interior to the surrounding environment.
To better integrate the new cultural hub into the downtown core, we are also proposing a conversion of existing transportation infrastructure into a linear urban park. Situated along the southern edge of the CP rail yard, the park would run along Worthington Street parallel to the route of the proposed Elgin Street Greenway. At the Bridge of Nations, an accessible pathway would link to Paris Street, where a segment of land to the east of Paris would be purchased for the construction of a branch leading to the hospital site. This would create a new point of connection to the residential area situated to the south of the downtown core. It would create additional access and overflow space for large gatherings that close off roads in the downtown. As the city relies heavily on cars for getting around, this park will also help mitigate our environmental impact by promoting alternate means of transport. The multi-use path running along its length will encourage walking and cycling and create a safer, more pleasant commute for pedestrians and cyclists by separating them from motorized traffic. For people coming from further out, the hospital site is already well-served by the city's transit system. New shelters and greenery will enhance the stops along the route to promote transit use.
The ultimate result of our proposal is an integrated urban arts and recreation district extending from Elgin Street all the way to Science North. It repurposes a neglected piece of the city's heritage into a nexus for movement and community life, and strengthens the connection between the downtown and the public spaces around Ramsey Lake. It adds significantly to Sudbury's available cultural and events space, which in turn benefits not only locals but also increases the city's attractiveness to new residents, tourists, investment, industry, and research and innovation. Finally, we envision that over the long term, The Link will unlock the underutilized industrial lands in the downtown core for renewal, allowing them to be turned them into places for people rather than profit.
(Competitor's text)
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