Waterloo moving forward with possible museum relocation to Carnegie Library

A move could soon be on the way for the City of Waterloo Museum, with council approving the next steps of a relocation into the Carnegie Library.

It would be a joining of local history and a historic location, as well as a move uptown for the museum, which currently operates out of a leased space at Conestoga Mall.

Staff have said the museum has faced a series of challenges with its current location, like limits on exhibition space, storage capacity, as well as overall programming flexibility.

“It’s an opportunity because we haven’t been able to do this next little bit of growth that the community is asking us to do,” Karen VandenBrink, Manager and Curator with the City of Waterloo Museum, said. “Things can be more integrated with our friends at the Waterloo Public Library as well, with whom we do a lot of collaboration with. I think it would be a really great fit for the neighbourhood.”

It comes after a feasibility study was conducted back in 2024, looking into the potential of transforming the Carnegie Library building into a museum.

It went into detail on a renovation strategy that would integrate modern accessibility and sustainability standards, while still respecting the building’s heritage features. That would include the addition of an elevator as well as the reconfiguration of the building’s three storeys for storage, programming, and exhibition use.

City staff detailed how the library has been largely unused for years, with a permanent resident eluding the location consistently throughout that time.

“I think it’s just helpful to kind of remind us that this building has sat empty for just over 10, maybe 11 years now,” said Waterloo Mayor Dorothy McCabe. “It’s not good for a building to sit like that, but we also know it’s a real treasure in the community as well.”

Complete details on what the relocation could look like have yet to be provided, but those can now get underway with the approval from city council. VandenBrink said the pros outweigh the cons in terms of what the new location could bring to the museum.

“There would be some operating impact, but there wouldn’t be a lot more because, while we are increasing the square footage slightly, the benefit is that we will have our own programming space on site. That’s something that we’ve been lacking at our current location.”

With the approval in hand for the detailed design phase, city staff can now look ahead to potential cost estimates for the project, as well as confirm storage strategies for the museum’s collection and explore potential phasing opportunities. That will also include possible external grant funding and partnership opportunities.

Those plans are set to be brought back to council at a later date.