A slide shown in a presentation about a possible future arts centre in Collingwood drew the ire of downtown business owners and residents for its depiction of a stacked, well-windowed square building.
Without clarification in the presentation, many took the rendering as the design for the future centre. And they did not take it well.
Steering committee member and executive director of Theatre Collingwood, Erica Angus, would like to correct the record.
"It's not an architectural rendering of what the theatre will look like, we're nowhere near that," said Angus.
She referred to the slide as a stacking exercise using blocking to determine how much building could fit in the parking lot space on Pine Street.
She agrees the stacked blocks make a pretty ugly arts centre.
"The theatre is not going to look like my high school," joked Angus while she spoke to a local Probus group recently.
"It was never intended to be an image of what the theatre will look like ... once we go down that road, we're going to look at it fitting in with the esthetics of the town."
An arts and culture centre – albeit a nicer looking one – is needed, according to Angus and the steering committee.
The existing options are small and are not fully accessible.
"The truth is, we don't have one fully-accessible space in this town, and it's not just for the audience members, although that's a big deal. We also have performers who have accessibility needs," said Angus. "In the 2020s, I think having an accessible art space is really important."
For Theatre Collingwood, future growth of the local arts organization is currently limited by a lack of space. Beyond that, Angus said there are countless artists in town who could make use of a space, and those who appreciate arts and culture who would also benefit from an arts centre.
"Arts and culture is no longer the icing on the cake, but it's actually what is going to help us survive these times," said Angus.
This is the third phase of the third time the town has gone down the road to explore the feasibility of an arts centre in the last few decades.
"The town has already spent about $300,000 in consultant fees so far and we could continue to spend thousands and hundreds of thousands of dollars on consultant fees, but I really believe it's time to get moving with this project."
The final site of the building has also not yet been decided.
The two options currently being considered for a new arts centre build – both at 101 Pine St. – include a standalone building on the site totalling 107,974 square feet at an estimated cost of $61.6 million, and a second option which would include a secondary connected building constructed at 84 Hurontario St. coming in at $72.8 million.
Consultant Colliers Project Leaders have estimated that based on how new arts centres have been built in other communities, the town can expect to be responsible for a third of the project’s capital costs. Any community fundraising would be applied to the town’s portion of the cost.
This past January, council decided that the costs were climbing too high for the future project, and voted to cap the municipal portion of the budget for the project to $16.5 million, which would translate to a total capital project cost of $50.3 million.
At that time, they called on town staff, the arts centre steering committee and the consultant to go back to the drawing board to find out what kind of arts centre that would bring to town.
"At this point, we're trying to look at 'ok, this is what the town feels comfortable with, what can we build for that amount of money? What can we really make happen?'" said Angus.
Her personal opinion is that a new arts centre should be approached very practically.
"Maybe 400 seats on a main floor and 200 on a balcony that can be sectioned off, but that's just my opinion," said Angus, noting a theatre with 1,500 or more seats would be unaffordable.
Something like Massey Hall, for example, wouldn't make sense in Collingwood, said Angus in an interview with CollingwoodToday.
The questions she asks about a future arts centre include: who will use it? Who can afford to use it? Can it bring people in from out of town?
"We can't build this just for those artists that can fill 1,500 seats, it's got to be ... more flexible," said Angus.
She said the committee wants the new arts centre to be a comfortable space where the community will come together, where it will be used as much as possible: daytime and evening, where there could be performers, great acoustics, and also it could be used by other groups.
Phase 3 of the arts centre feasibility study was first presented to council this past July. Colliers recommended building a facility to include a 600-seat main hall, 300-seat recital hall, multi-purpose rooms and administrative space. They recommended any facility should also have outdoor gathering spaces, catering facilities, and parking.
The arts and culture centre feasibility process was first approved by council in December 2019 as part of the 2020 budget. Since then, there have been two phases, led by Nordicity and Giaimo Architects.
Angus said the next time the matter comes up at council, it could potentially be the green light needed to work on a design and graduate from feasible to real.
If approved this quarter by council, Angus anticipates the arts centre could be open within three to five years.
"It could stop, I don't think it will ... but I think if approval came at that point, then we could start fundraising," said Angus.
- With files from Jessica Owen