Barrie City Hall To Get Some Work Done

Expansion and Renovations Being Planned For Barrie Seat of Governance

Barrie City Hall could be getting a facelift. Council were shown a conceptualization study at Monday night’s meeting, showing potential renovations to City Hall including  adding an additional 70,000 square feet to the structure. Accessibility improvements would be included in the renovations on the nearly 50-year-old structure, while increasing the size of the structure from 90,000 to 160,000 square feet.  The original plan as presented to council also called for city staff to explore sharing the facility with personnel at the County of Simcoe, but the idea was nixed by a motion by Councillor Steve Trotter over concerns it wouldn’t be a cost effective use of the space and that Barrie City Hall is Barrie’s alone. If this plan gets final approval, construction could begin as early as next year and take five years in a phased in approach. Council has endorsed the plan in principal, depending greatly on future financing and approvals.