written and researched by Deb Ferguson
The Mary Allen neighbourhood had waited years for the development of the southern end of the land at the corner of Allen and Willow streets. Improvements had been made at the other end of the plot, closer to the train tracks, but residents were becoming cynical and thinking that maybe this change would never happen (see The Making of Mary Allen Park, Part 1).
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Click to enlarge. In 2012, the corner of Allen and Willow streets, adjacent to the first phase of Mary Allen Park. |
Politics, Public Input, and...yup, Parking (Again!)
Councillor Durrell discovered that the Catholic School Board was interested in selling the land to the City, but it insisted that the school building had to be included in the sale. The School Board knew that any purchaser of the building would need to have space to provide parking, and they didn’t want to be left with a site that was difficult to develop. This issue had stymied Council for several years, as they were nervous about spending large sums of money. Councillor Durrell proposed that the City purchase both properties, and then sell off the school building. Her theory was that the sale of the school would pay for the park.
This took a great deal of negotiation with other councillors, but finally, in March of 2012, Council agreed to pay about $560,000 for both properties, including $122,000 for legal fees, surveying costs, and environmental evaluations.
This took a great deal of negotiation with other councillors, but finally, in March of 2012, Council agreed to pay about $560,000 for both properties, including $122,000 for legal fees, surveying costs, and environmental evaluations.
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Click to enlarge. Waterloo Chronicle, 28 March, 2012. Image courtesy of Waterloo Public Library. |
The next step was to consult with the people in the neighbourhood about their ideas for development of this land. A young planner on staff proposed having a design charrette, and at the event the neighbourhood was given the impression that all suggestions were welcome – the sky was the limit! There were many, many flamboyant ideas for the park, which, much to Councillor Durrell’s chagrin, far overshot the budget.
In the meantime, soil tests discovered that the land had become polluted through its years as a factory site, and then as a parking lot. It would take a great deal of labour to decontaminate the soil. Enough land needed to be excavated and replaced so that no hazards would remain, or return. This would use up the entire budget set aside to create the park.
The City was also considering what it could do with the building. Public consultations were held, and there were suggestions that it could be turned into a community centre, used for affordable housing, or even razed to create a bigger extension to the park. Again, the neighbourhood had been asked to participate in consultations, and their contributions went far beyond the scope of what could actually be achieved.
In March of 2013, John Arndt, from Architectural Conservancy Ontario North Waterloo Region branch, spoke to the Waterloo City Council about the value of preserving and reusing old buildings, and designating the St. Louis School building as a historical site. Shortly after that, Council put the school on the City’s Municipal Heritage Register as a non-designated property.
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Click to enlarge. Waterloo Chronicle, 27 March, 2013. Image courtesy of Waterloo Public Library. |
In May, the building went up for sale. There was much interest, and several proposals were discussed. One of the potential developers, Jeff Zavitz, lived locally, a block from the park. He understood about protecting the parkland, as his own kids liked to play there, and he was interested in reusing the existing building. He was the only developer to meet the environmental and heritage criteria set out by the City, and to submit his bid within the deadline.
In the end, he paid the City of Waterloo $535,000, with the City contributing $135,000 to help cover the costs for site remediation.
The next hurdle was the parking issue. City by-laws indicated that a certain amount of parking needed to be provided for the building. The original idea was that the parking would be taken from the green space across the street from the building. However, Councillor Durrell was determined that the parkland space not be touched. Jeff Zavitz was worried that the neighbourhood would be furious if the green space was reduced to provide parking, so he suggested that the City sell him part of Willow Street, so that the sidewalk could be moved and angled parking placed directly in front of the building. His new building design was for sixteen residential units, with the necessary parking on the building side of the street.
With this design change, the Mary Allen neighbourhood gained an extra .33 hectares to add to their Mary Allen Park.
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Click to enlarge. Both Waterloo Chronicle, 9 July, 2014. Images courtesy of Waterloo Public Library. |
In 2015, a new consultant was hired by the City. Over the course of the year, there were more workshops and surveys to discover the neighbourhood’s “vision” for the park, this time with a more defined scope. Design possibilities were submitted and debated, and finally a decision was made.
Site remediation, design fees, and continuously escalating construction costs drove the bill ever higher. In total, the new park would cost $1.3 million. It seems that the money that had been kept in escrow since 1991 had been absorbed into the cost of park upgrades along the way.
The budget request had come forward in February of 2015. Councillor Melissa Durrell faced a great deal of opposition from other councillors who were not only concerned about the rising costs, but also the perception of inequity in providing far more money to one area of the city than another. Eventually, she and her staff sold the project to most of her colleagues by stressing that the new design would be worth the money because it would provide a template for future urban park construction. Mary Allen Park would be the first park expansion according to this model in the City of Waterloo.
The project received the green light from Council on February 22, 2016.
The project received the green light from Council on February 22, 2016.
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Click to enlarge. Waterloo Chronicle, 25 February, 2016. Image courtesy of Waterloo Public Library. |
Finally – The Park!
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Click to enlarge. Plan drawing for the expanded Mary Allen Park, by Snow Larc Landscape Architecture Ltd. Image courtesy of Stephanie Snow. |
Each spot in the newly designed park has a special, though subtle, significance...
The vertical wooden logs and rocks at the end closest to the train tracks represent the raw materials used at the start of the manufacturing process.
The vertical wooden logs and rocks at the end closest to the train tracks represent the raw materials used at the start of the manufacturing process.
The heavy material of the shade structure, according to Stephanie Snow, is meant to be “an interpretation of the factory floor,” leading to the plantings and open lawn area, with its more refined benches, that represent the factory showroom with ornate finished furniture on display.
The mysterious entry sign to the park at the Willow and Allen intersection “is an exaggerated furniture scrollwork detail, similar to what would have been on the furnishings created by E.O. Weber in its heyday. The choice of materials for the sign is a reminder of the site’s industrial past. . . . [The] intent was to design something that was both beautiful and industrial as a nod to E.O. Weber.”
And, if you look closely at the custom bike racks beside the north entrance to the park, you will notice the logo inscribed there. It is taken from a stamp found on an original E.O. Weber sideboard. In keeping with the theme of Waterloo furniture manufacturing, these bike racks were made by Hauser, another local furniture company.
Like the circular bike racks, the entire new park design symbolically brought our modern park full circle with the past.
The official opening of the new Mary Allen Park took place on September 30, 2018, eight years after Councillor Durrell had started working to make the park a reality. The Mary Allen Fun Fair had been moved to the fall that year, when the park was finally ready for public use. The neighbourhood had to wait for two rounds of grass cutting before anyone could actually walk on it. A week before the opening, wood chips were still being laid on the playground. But then, the neighbourhood gathered to celebrate!
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Click to enlarge. Official reopening of the expanded Mary Allen Park, 30 September, 2018. Image courtesy of Julie Legg, City of Waterloo. |
Mayor Dave Jaworsky was in attendance, and Melissa Durrell, now the out-going councillor, gave a short speech. Tenille Bonoguore, the soon-to-be-elected councillor, was there as well. The Mary Allen Neighbourhood Association had organized a bouncy castle, axe throwing, a barbecue and great music. It was a wonderful community get-together. When long-time park sceptic Roy Wuertele met Councillor Durrell, he gave her a high five! To commemorate Roy’s dedication to the park, and his impatience with the long, long procedure, a small plaque was installed under a tree. It reads, “R. WUERTELE / FINALLY – THE PARK!”
So, as I sit at the harvest table, looking around Mary Allen Park, I realize I am gazing not just at close to a hectare of green space and some trees, but also at the topmost of many layers of history, some of which still remain buried deep beneath the soil.
The most recent park stewards have continued many of the traditions. Enterprising community members have sought grants and raised funds to enrich the park, for example, with a tarantula climber, new toys to play with in winter, and the beautiful art on the metal storage box beside me, painted with whimsical, nature-inspired designs by Anishinaabe-Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation illustrator and muralist Luke Stinson, with assistance from Alanah Astehtsi Otsistohkwa (Morningstar) Jewell, a Haudenosaunee illustrator, painter and muralist.
Fish decorated by the community adorn the fence at the back of the park, commemorating the many donors for the new climber. New park activities are being planned, and developments are on the horizon, perhaps even a weekly farmer’s market. All around me is evidence of the dedication and care people have put into this park.
Recently, events have had to be put on hold because of the COVID-19 Pandemic, but work-arounds have been devised.
I am humbled by what I see. The development of this park is a demonstration that change takes time, sometimes a lot more than we would like. Yet, groups of people have been determined – have dreamed, worked hard, and even fought for this piece of land. After many years, the full Mary Allen Park is finally here, the true heart of our community.
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Click to enlarge. 2021, the corner of Allen and Willow streets, showing the completed Mary Allen Park. |
Acknowledgements
– Deb Ferguson
This is a thorough telling of the history of the park. Thank you, Deborah, for taking the time to put all this together. It and the park are very special.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tricia - Deb has read your note. She really appreciates it!
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