Jasper Construction Corporation has been selected to build Vaughan Public Libraries’ tenth library. The 8,300 square foot library will be located at 1 Villa Royale Avenue connected to the Vellore Village Community Centre. The Vaughan Public Library Board, Mayor and Members of Council attended a November 12 groundbreaking ceremony for the new library which is designed by ZAS Architects and anticipated to open in late 2017.

“This is another great moment for Vaughan Public Libraries and the residents of Vaughan. We are very pleased Jasper Construction Corporation will help us make this new library a reality.” said Devender Sandhu, Chair of Vaughan Public Library Board. “Like VPL’s other nine branches, Vellore Village South Library will positively enrich, inspire and transform our community.”

“When designing the new library, we made sure to minimize its physical impact on the existing building and amenities, including the skate park.” said Margie Singleton, CEO, Vaughan Public Libraries. “We again adopted a collaborative design approach by incorporating suggestions from the public gathered from surveys and focus groups to ensure the library meets the needs of our community.”

The site will house an inspiring facility that will respond to VPL’s mission of offering a welcoming destination that educates, excites and empowers the Vaughan community. The new library will be attached to the existing community centre and will be approximately 8,300 sq. ft. in size being visually distinctive, yet complementary and a modern addition to a much larger building development.

Other highlights of the building are:

• High performance envelope and white roof to reduce environmental heat gain and heat loss
• Use of predominantly local materials to reduce carbon footprint
• Natural ventilation strategy and daylight harvesting to reduce the hvac and lighting energy load
• Large east-facing reading balcony that overlooks the skate park

Proposed services & collections that will be offered at the new library include:

• Full suite of programs including storytimes, book clubs, technology training
• Materials for adults, youth and children on a wide variety of subjects, including popular and  high demand materials and support for the school curriculum
• Technology such as word processing and presentation software
• Collaboration spaces for group study
• Storytime area that is part of the children’s area and invites participation

In addition, the library is designed to be a green building which complies with the City of Vaughan’s Green Building Policy. It will also be an accessible facility that offers accessible shelving and technologies to accommodate individuals with special needs. 

Front row (L to R): VPL Board Trustees Manjit Kaur, Rose Savage (Vice-Chair) and Devender Sandhu (Chair); Daniel Kostopoulos, Vaughan City Manager; Michael Di Biase, Deputy Mayor & Regional Councillor; Loreta Pavese, VPL Board Trustee; Sandra Yeung Racco, Ward 4 Councillor & VPL Board Trustee; Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua; Rosanna DeFrancesca, Ward 3 Councillor & VPL Board Trustee; Marilyn Iafrate, Ward 1 Councillor & VPL Board Trustee; Mario Ferri, Regional Councillor & VPL Board Trustee; Gino Rosati, Regional Councillor; VPL Board Trustees Maya Goldenberg and Cristina Rizzuto. Back row (left to right): John Appugliesi, President & CEO of Jasper Construction; VPL Board Trustees Jane Kelly, Palma Pallante, and Ugo Di Federico; Margie Singleton (VPL CEO); Steve Kerwin, VPL Board Trustee, and Paul Stevens, Senior Principal at ZAS Architects + Interiors

Ward 3 Councillor & VPL Board Trustee, Rosanna DeFrancesca and Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua

 

Left to right: John Appugliesi, President & CEO of Jasper Construction; Devender Sandhu, VPL Library Board Chair; Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua, City of Vaughan; Margie Singleton, VPL CEO; Rosanna DeFrancesca, Ward 3 Councillor and Library Board Trustee; Paul Stevens, Senior Principal of ZAS Architects + Interiors

 

L to R: John Appugliesi and Joseph Zinni of Jasper Construction; Ella Mamiche, ZAS Architects + Interiors; Paul Marcoccia and Wei Chiao from the City of Vaughan; Margie Singleton, VPL CEO; Aleksandra Dowiat Vine (VPL); Del Cordeiro and Paul Stevens of ZAS Architects + Interiors

 

VPL Executive Management Team (left to right): Aleksandra Dowiat Vine, Sandy Vander Werff, Margie Singleton, VPL CEO; Marilyn Guy and Lisa McDonough