• Vaughan’s previous Civic Centre was last renovated in 1982 when Vaughan’s population was 36,815. Today, Vaughan’s population is 300,000, and is expected to increase to 418,000 by 2031.
  
• In April 2003, Council approved a resolution to build a new City Hall to meet the long-term needs of Vaughan’s growing population and enhance the delivery of municipal services.
  
• The extended civic square, reflecting pool and garden are planned to be developed in Phase 2 and Phase 3.
• In January 2004, a three-day open house was held to allow the public to view four design submissions in the Design Competition for the City Hall.
• In February 2004, it was announced the award-winning architectural firm Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB) of Toronto had been selected to design the new City Hall.
• In 2006, Vaughan Council awarded the construction contract for the City Hall to Maystar General Contractors Inc. of Vaughan, as the lowest compliant bidder.
• Construction of the new City Hall began in February 2007.
• Vaughan’s new City Hall is Phase 1 of a proposed three-phase campus design of low-rise buildings that include a public resource library, civic square, reflecting pool/skating rink, gardens and parkland. In addition, York Region is constructing a 84-unit affordable rental housing apartment just south of the new City Hall to replace the Maple Manor apartments at Major Mackenzie Drive and Keele Street.
• City departments began occupancy of the building on Feburary 10, 2011.
• The Official Opening of Vaughan City Hall took place on September 25, 2011.

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN

• The project has received national attention with a Canadian Architect Award of Excellence in 2004, as well as local recognition with a 2005 Vaughan Urban Design Award.
• The City Hall is organized as an L-shape with each wing featuring a central atrium to draw daylight into the building. Connecting stairs within the atrium will help reduce elevator use.
• The size of the new City Hall is approximately 280,000 square feet.
• The new City Hall takes a whole-building approach to environmental sustainability by focusing on energy conservation and reduced dependence on natural resources. It sets the tone and standard for environmentally-responsible and civic-minded development in Vaughan.
• The building will be proposed for Gold certification in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). It is expected to be one of the largest civic buildings in Canada to achieve this rating.
• LEED is a third-party certification program and an internationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. Certification provides independent third party verification that a building project is environmentally responsible.
• LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water efficiency, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality
  
• Vaughan City Hall is fully-integrated with a number of sustainable design features such as maximum exposure to natural daylight, passive solar shading, energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, natural ventilation and water efficient landscaping.
• The building is expected to realize a savings of 25 per cent in operational costs annually compared to the operating costs of a conventional building of the same size. The new City Hall will use less energy per square foot compared to the current building.
• The building is fully accessible with wider aisles, ramps, automatic doors and lower counter heights.
• Approximately 50% of the roof will consist of low-growth vegetation, forming a green roof. This will aid in the natural filtration of storm water for reuse in irrigation, as well as lower surrounding air temperatures in the summer.
• Public gardens will use naturalized vegetation to minimize water and maintenance requirements. The public park will also feature a mix of native trees and plants to reinforce the site’s regional character.
• To reduce the environmental impact of long-distance transport, regional materials have been incorporated into design wherever possible. Materials include corn fibre carpeting, North American white oak, Wiarton limestone and Terrazzo flooring. Reflective architectural concrete has also been used to naturally brighten the interior.
• Use of ground water retained in a below grade cistern will provide natural irrigation of the green rooftops and site landscaping.