UPCOMING EVENTS

Bloomfield Spring Fair Artscape May 16th

Join us for a spring celebration of gardening, crafts, food and more.

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Imagine Bloomfield Annual General Meeting

Wednesday, May 19th, 6-9pm, Multi-purpose Room at the Bloomfield Centre

PAST EVENTS

Artscape Workshop
November 12th, 2009
For program information and registration see:

www.torontoartscape.on.ca

Presentations from Artscape Workshop Available:

The Capital Project

The Capital Campaign

Project Development

Bloomfield Partnership Event
February 18th, 2009
Freds 6pm

Making It Happen! 
Wednesday Feb 27, 2008

7 - 9 PM (brief AGM followed by public presentation)
Bloomfield Centre,
Multipurpose Room
2786 Agricola Street, Halifax

Imagine Bloomfield
Planning Team Results and Presentation

Wednesday, July 4th, 2007

7:15-9:15 Bloomfield Centre Multi-Purpose Room

IN FULL BLOOM

Bloomfield Neighbourhood Community Festival
June 16th, 2007

3:00-10:00pmArt, Workshops, Displays, Music, Fun! Come show your support for the centre!

Annual General Meeting
March 14th, 2007

"In the Spirit of Jane Jacobs: Development with Imagination"

Presented by Imagine Bloomfield Society
Thursday, February 1, 7 PM
Dalhousie School of Architecture, Main Auditorium
(basement - Room HA-19),
5410 Spring Garden Road

A public presentation by Margie Zeidler, whose work as a property developer in Toronto has been inspired and informed by a life-long association with Jane Jacobs. Margie described her projects in Toronto (401 Richmond West, Gladstone Hotel, 215 Spadina) where community, culture and commerce are co-located to create vibrant workplaces and creative spaces. <www.urbanspace.org>

Imagine Bloomfield Design Workshop
Saturday, February 3,
10 AM – 2 PM
Bloomfield Centre,
2786 Agricola Street



Participants designed their ideal Bloomfield "with community at the centre". Margie Zeidler and other resource people attended this inspiring, interactive and productive session.

Our Vision Imagine Bloomfield works to preserve and enhance the Bloomfield Centre as a dynamic, neighbourhood hub that includes space for arts, recreation, health, community services, commercial ventures and housing. Our vision includes adaptive reuse of the existing buildings, with a focus on green building and renovations.

Current News

Call for Board Members: If you are interested, please send a short description of yourself and your interest in working with Imagine Bloomfield to imaginebloomfield(at)gmail.com

Call for Special Resolutions: If you are a member of Imagine Bloomfield and you would like to raise a specific voting issue at the AGM please send detailes to imaginebloomfield(at)gmail.com

Useful Documents

Imagine Bloomfield Brochure

Community Vision Presentation

Needs Assessment

Imagine Bloomfield Membership Form

How to become involved

If you are interested in becoming a member or knowing more about Imagine Bloomfield about, please send a message to imaginebloomfield@gmail.com.

You can also join the Imagine Bloomfield page on Facebook.

A quick look back at 2009 -

We held a Networking and Partners Event at FREDs in February and brought together a diverse group of HRM staff, developers and community activists to further explore the opportunities that the
Bloomfield Centre holds

We waited...and waited for the HRM Bloomfield Masterplan as developed by McKay Lyons Sweetapple to go to council

We continued our community garden work and published a Halifax North End Community Gardens map, and engaged with the Go North! weekend festival

In September the Bloomfield Masterplan was unanimously passed by Council. It generally reflects our hopes for a multi-purpose arts,
culture, community centre and housing on part of the land. With some reservations regarding the green-ness of the project and the height,
Imagine Bloomfield, in principle, supported this plan

In November we brought in Artscape (a Toronto-based, non-profit development agency) to hold a Creative Spacemaking Workshop at the
Bloomfield Centre to further explore the types of development we would like to see happen. HRM provided support for the workshop and Artscape
held a 2 hr session for HRM staff to discuss how to move forward with the implementation of the Masterplan

Imagine Bloomfield met with other organizations, discussed partnerships, met with council members and continued to advocate for the redevelopment of the Bloomfield Centre to be the best thing that
has hit Halifax...ever!

Imagine Bloomfield hired its first ever staff person (to share with PAL Halifax)

We began a Needs Assessment project, collecting information on potential partners and tenants for the new Centre. This assessment
will be completed by March 31st, 2010

A quick look at the year ahead -

We intend to develop partnerships with other organizations who want Bloomfield to be their home

We will complete our Needs Assessment project, and present to HRM staff and councillors

We will have events that continue to build momemtum for the Centre and engage the community on its bright future

We will evolve as an organization to do our best in the next steps for actually making something happen on the site

HRM does intend to send out an Expression of Interest call in the coming months. We want to be prepared, and we'll need your continued support.

We will have regular contact with our members and friends of Imagine Bloomfield. Please follow us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/imaginebloomfld) or join our group on facebook

and finally, we want to build our membership.
If you are not already a member please consider becoming one. We've attached the membership
form and we offer good value for the $5 fee!

Please let us know if you want to become involved in one of our subcommittees, which will focus on aspects of the Centre from housing, arts and culture, green building and social enterprise / commercial.

Imagine Bloomfield is a non-profit society (under the Nova Scotia Societies Act) formed in 2005 out of concern for the future of the Bloomfield Centre. Imagine Bloomfield works to ensure that community vision is the basis of the future of Bloomfield - a vibrant, multi purpose centre, that is creative and inclusive in meeting the needs of North End Halifax.

The Centre remains an important place for recreation, meeting, family services and art. The Bloomfield Centre is unique in HRM, in its variety of tenants, cultural and ethnic diversity and inclusion of groups that work together to deliver programming and support to low income families and individuals. The Centre should continue to provide broadly for the community, but should also be encouraged to reach its potential. The Bloomfield Centre is publicly owned, and must continue to serve the North End in the best possible manner.

Board members of Imagine Bloomfield meet every two weeks, to plan future events and develop a community lead vision. Imagine Bloomfield is exploring various options that could enhance the site and ensure that community access is maintained.

Why was Imagine Bloomfield formed?

Imagine Bloomfield was a community response to the need to maintain a community centre in the North End of Halifax that can serve the diverse needs of citizens. Bloomfield has a deep history in the community as it was where most long term residents went to school. The movement to ensure that Bloomfield is part of HRM’s future began in 2004, shortly after HRM held Bloomfield tenants meetings indicating that the Centre might close.
Many of the tenants, particularly the artists who were housed in the Commons Building wanted to create a way that the Centre could become financially viable. In July 2005, the artists and the Citadel Boxing Club were locked out of the Commons Building, as HRM cited high concentrations of mould in the building. While the building closure was initially deemed temporary, by November of 2005, all artists and the boxing club were told they could not return. Imagine Bloomfield continued, working with the rest of the tenants and the surrounding community to raise public awareness about the potential of the Bloomfield Centre and its importance in the neighbourhood.