After serving the community for over 40 years as a public library, the MSA Centennial Library building will once again become a place of community gathering and connection. CityStudio, a collaborative effort between UFV and the City of Abbotsford, will open a location in the refurbished building.
Since its launch in 2018, CityStudio has challenged UFV students with their model of experiential learning through community-based projects. Innovation is highlighted each semester in Hubbub open house showcases held at City Hall.
The new “Innovation Hub” at the MSA Centennial Library building will serve the program’s needs as they continue to connect creative solutions with civic challenges. In a statement regarding the project, CityStudio Abbotsford explained that having a physical space for the project will “provide space to meet, connect, collaborate, and engage.”
As of 2019, in addition to the CityStudio space, the city’s plans now include a community meeting space, coffee shop, and new location for Tourism Abbotsford’s marketing office.
Dallas Carlson, a marketing assistant at Tourism Abbotsford, said that relocating to the Centennial Library building from their current offices in the TRADEX Trade and Exhibition Centre will bring them closer to Abbotsford’s local businesses, and make them easier to access.
Completion of the project is scheduled by the City of Abbotsford for fall 2019, but construction is still underway as of mid-November.
“They’ve had some bumps in the road,” Carlson said. “It’s been a long process. They’ve been working on it for so long, things just kept coming up.”
Built in 1967 to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the Canadian Confederation, the MSA Centennial Library building itself was a community project. At the time of construction, it was a symbol of close collaboration between the districts of Matsqui and Sumas and the village of Abbotsford that was made possible in part by the support of clubs, groups, and individuals in the community.
After the construction of a new public library at Abbotsford Senior Secondary in 2012, the MSA Centennial Library was closed permanently. Since then, plans have previously reimagined the building as an office for the Abbotsford Downtown Business Association, the Abbotsford Arts Council, and a gallery for local artists.
The next CityStudio Hubbub will take place on Dec. 3 in Abbotsford City Hall from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will showcase the latest projects put together by UFV students.
Image: Kaitlyn White
