On the agenda for the February 26 council meeting there is a staff report on the Nobleton Community Hall (NCH) presenting an extremely difficult choice for Council. There are two options but both of them are the debate between “one’s head and one’s heart”. There is additional complexity as the NCH is part of a bigger project, the Nobleton Revitalization Strategy. The staff report is lengthy including letters from citizens opposing demolition (start at page 11/147) and the Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA)by ERA at page (start at 77/147).
Significant effort has been spent by Staff and citizens as is evident from the report and in addition there have been questions and discussions to understand better and to advocate.
In the introductory comments of “Our King” the Official Plan, it says “Each of the Villages and Hamlets has its own distinctive character including notable cultural and natural landscapes, historical features, and heritage properties.” Throughout the OP there are comments, commitments to preserve and respect the built heritage. As of 2024 there are few heritage properties in Nobleton; one is the designated NCH. When there are private development applications for lands which have historic structures we aggressively encourage saving and re-purposing those structures. The Heritage Advisory Committee awards grants to help property owners of designated buildings to maintain their properties in a manner which will not harm the heritage attributes. Our Community Incentive Program gives grants to support heritage properties.
In the report Staff indicate that the NCH is no longer valuable as its use has declined for many years and that would be users have found other locations. In 2015-2019 it was leased which was valuable for providing income but ironically it discouraged other users. The report appropriately identifies that with Council approval/direction investments were not made to maintain NCH at a high standard nor to provide accessibility. I can’t say that this is the cause of declining usage but it’s certainly did not encourage use. I was part of those council decisions; I doubt the possible consequences of those decisions was understood. And of course the pandemic interrupted habits e.g. its my understanding since 1958 through to pandemic the Nobleton King City Garden Club met there.
Assessing Cultural Heritage is not a science. And as is often the case professionals will have different opinions. In 2007 a professional argued that the NCH was worthy of designation and now in 2024 another professional argues that it is not. The significant difference in the two is the evaluation of its design value or physical value. ERA says such is nominal rather than being “early or rare example of rural Ontario community hall typology.” I don’t have the experience or data to argue whether its rare but I do think it has significant value as a demonstration/proof of the community spirit which typifies Nobleton community in the depression.] See 107/147 in the report for further review of the differing assessments.
Unlike cultural heritage which is not a science there are the hard numbers presented by Staff. To demolish it will cost $200,000. To move it and re-purpose into some sort of “ancillary building” in the new park area is estimated to cost $500,000. (In an earlier meeting the concept was to re-purpose into a storage shed in the park.) I find this proposed re-purposing to be insulting to the community spirit which built it and loved it for more than 70 years.
It is not overtly said in the staff report but its my interpretation that Staff is saying there is no use for a community hall separate from what is provided in the Nobleton Arena. And they are saying that there is not an alternative location and use other than what has been presented. I am not satisfied with that i.e. the latter. As I don’t understand the urgency to demolish or to move I think there needs to more effort to explore the possibilities.
As always you can participate in the Council and make a deputation on this motion in person or virtually. For details on how to do please see Council agenda. Or you can send an email to clerks@king.ca by Monday noon with your comments, questions.
The Seniors were having exercise class in the large cavernous room upstairs at the Arena, until the summer. Then they were shuffled to the Nobleton Community Hall upstairs where the room was the perfect size for class3s, the flooring was great, mirrors on the side and front to see how you are doing. The drawback was it was a bit hot. We opened the door and used a fan, but it was still hot. The next year we were shuffled off to St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church where they had a gym and supposedly was air conditioned. The reality was the the sanctuary is air conditioned but the gym was not. Once again, we opened doors and used fans. Nobleton United was asked if they would rent their basement to the Township for 6 weeks in the summer. The Township needs room for their summer camps. The Nobleton Community Hall downstairs would be perfect for that. The Arena obviously does not satisfy the needs of the Township for them to be seeking additional space from neighbouring churches.
In my view, too much credence is being given to the 2023 public survey where a “majority of residents” were in favour of demolishing the Nobleton Community Hall. (Myself and many others did not answer the survey because it only had the two options). I would have been interested in more transparency with the public about this survey. For example, the Township says there were 225 respondents of which the “majority” were in favour of demolition. It would be interesting to know the percentage of this majority. They also mention there were 253 views of the page on SpeaKing, of which 78% were from the village of Nobleton (197 people). So… how many of the “majority” who were in favour of demolition were in fact residents of Nobleton?
The Nobleton and King City Garden Club used the Nobleton Community Hall, as has been noted, for years. It was excellent. We used the basement room though getting in and out of it was a bit of a challenge since it was not accessible. That could have been addressed and should be. The room is spacious and compared to Laskay Hall, the lighting was good too. Any kind of presentation was easy to set up and see. There was a spacious, well-equipped kitchen for our use. A turkey dinner for 50+ was no problem. There was storage space. Washrooms were fine. Really, no problems. Sometimes, if we expected a huge crowd, we could use the upstairs. The Nobleton Arena rooms were either too small or too large. I agree that in a place like Nobleton where heritage buildings are few, this building is worth preserving and investing in (air conditioning and accessibility). That is the option that was missing from the survey – keep and renovate where it is.