The Irvine Library will be moved across the street to be part of the new Irvine Community Resource Centre being built this year where this playground currently stands. (Photo Courtesy Ross Lavigne)

By Chris Brown

New library, community centre will help revitalize Irvine, says county reeve

Jan 10, 2023 | 4:32 PM

IRVINE, AB – Woodward Memorial Park in the heart of Irvine currently houses a small playground, a handful of picnic tables and a couple of large trees.

Cypress County Reeve Dan Hamilton says if all goes according to plan, says it will look much different by the end of the year when it’s home to the Irvine Community Resource Centre.

“It revitalizes things to come as a community resource centre and people just, they have a place to go to join to do more than just be in a library,” he says. “It just, I can’t stress enough revitalizes that area.”

Irvine’s library will be moved across the street to the 3600-square-foot centre which will also house a board room. Outside will be a playground and an upgraded Woodward Memorial Park.

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The resource centre project has been years in the making. Public consultations began in 2017 and Hamilton says everybody had their input, including the library. The reeve adds he and other county officials made many visits to Irvine to scout potential locations before making their decision in November.

“It fit into our plan, it was looked at, it’s still going to be a park there. The park’s going to be a little smaller but it’s still going to be there. And it’s just right across the street from where the original library is right now,” he says.

Not everyone is happy with the location though.

Irvine resident Marina Cole is worried about losing the large trees in the park and says the new facility will take up too much space that’s currently available for play.

“This is our only greenspace on this side of town,” she says. “So when you’re cutting that in half you don’t have a park anymore. It’s basically a lawn.”

Cole says it makes more sense to build the new centre near the Irvine Sports Complex. She says that’s where most kids can be found playing and it would be next to Irvine school and its Agriculture Discovery Centre.

“What we want is just to have a little bit of flexibility from the county. And that’s all we’re asking for,” she says. “Please work with us and try to find somewhere else.”

Hamilton says with any council or county decision there’s always someone who disagrees with it. But they’re trying to put their best foot forward for the county and for the hamlets that they work with.

“I keep saying revitalizing Irvine. We’re trying to bring stuff back to Irvine, we’re trying to get people into the community. So I see a positive of it. All the council seen positive, it was unanimous across the board that, that went through.”

He says the project has been on hold for years and with $1.5 million in provincial grant funding now in place, it’s finally moving forward. Last week the county posted a request for proposal for the design and construction.

It’s the start of a new chapter for Irvine with many pages still to be written.

NOTE: This story has been updated to remove reference to the park being named for Wanda Lee Woodward. Incorrect information was provided to CHAT News.