Ways sought to prettify Civic Centre's 'concrete jail' (5 photos)

It’s happened to a lot of us.

You pour yourself into re-decorating one room in your house.

You love the results, but the rest of your house looks shabby in comparison.

The $6.9-million reglazing and recladding project at Sault Ste. Marie's Civic Centre has advanced to the point where we can start to envision what the waterfront landmark is going to look like.

And some people are starting to worry that the front entrance stairs, accessibility walkway and even the building's atrium reception area are in definite need of a little primping.

At last week's City Council meeting, as councillors approved an application for federal funding for improvements to the Cold War-era accessibility ramp, Ward 3 Coun. Matthew Shoemaker raised the issue of esthetics.

"Will part of the work that we hope to do on the ramp improve not just accessibility but the visual appeal of the ramp?" Shoemaker asked.

"Right now, it certainly feels like you're in a concrete jail going up that ramp."

Malcolm White, the city's chief administrative officer, agreed that the ramp's "visual appeal" is "something we need to look at."

"Since we are getting a very nice-looking exterior to the building – it's going to have a whole new look when it's finished – we are cognisant of not just the ramp but the whole steps area leading up to the building and what can be done to... be able to fit in more nicely with the new exterior," White said.

"We also need to look at the interior of the building, to make sure that we take advantage of the new look," he added.

Shoemaker said the front steps of City Hall seem to be an ongoing safety hazard and he believes the appearance of the building's entrance is important.

New steps and waterproofing have already been proposed as part of the Civic Centre's asset management plan and city officials hope that work will be completed in 2021.