Kingston City Hall will be undergoing much needed renovations by fall of 2021, a report to city council has revealed.
The renovations will involve disassembling the entire north and south wing of Kingston City Hall’s staircase. The entire staircase will be reconstructed, the interior arch will be repaired and new handrails will be installed.
The application has come after Paige Agnew, commissioner of community services reported that time and exposure has caused the structure staircase to deteriorate. “The City’s Facilities Management and Construction Services staff should be commended for their attention to detail and strict adherence to accepted conservation best practices; however, time and exposure has caused these structures to deteriorate past the point of repair,” wrote Agnew in a letter to council.
In the years since 2010, the building has undergone several repairs including to its staircases and handrails.
“The work will address public safety and localized structural stability concerns that have resulted from long term weathering, ongoing water infiltration into the building and related deterioration,” wrote Dan Korneluk from Facilities Management & Construction Services.
While the reconstruction was initially slated to use Queenstown limestone, other officials disagreed with the move, suggesting that it should be rebuilt with Kingston limestone. As a result of the disagreement, the staircase will be using Kingston limestone.
Constructed in 1843, Kingston City Hall is a two storey building known for its classically portioned limestone structures associated, and is a distinctive feature of Kingston’s core.The architect George Browne envisioned the building to match the significance of a town which at the time acted as Canada’s capital.
The application will go to a vote at tomorrow’s city council meeting.
