It’s been about a year since councillors voted to move the studies for a new Collingwood arts and culture centre into Phase 3, and on Monday they’ll finally get a look at the outcome.
During their committee of the whole meeting on July 5, councillors will receive a report on Phase 3 of the business case for an arts centre in town, completed by Colliers Project Leaders who were procured by the town last year at an estimated cost of $200,000.
However, based on the report to be considered by councillors on Monday, Colliers needs $40,000 more to complete the work, and is recommending holding off on making any final decisions on the project until the town’s downtown visioning exercise is completed.
Based on the report, Colliers is recommending building a facility to include a 600-seat main hall, 300-seat recital hall, multi-purpose rooms and administrative space. They recommend any facility should also have outdoor gathering spaces, catering facilities, and parking.
There are two options Colliers is recommending when it comes to location of the facility: Option 1 is a standalone building at 101 Pine Street totalling 107,974 square-feet, while Option 2, totalling 128,522 square feet, combines the standalone building at 101 Pine Street with a secondary building at 84 Hurontario Street connected by a “skywalk” bridge. The secondary building would provide frontage on the main street and accommodate “community hub” programming including a gallery, restaurant, and tourism centre.
The two options also come with cost estimates, which for Option 1 comes in at $61.6 million, and Option 2 coming in at $72.8 million. Underground parking would add another $18.9 million to either option.
Last year, the town’s consultant team Nordicity, delivered its most recent findings on the project to councillors as part of Phase 2, suggesting a 400-seat theatre be built and offering two site options for it: a parking lot at 48 Ste Marie St. and the former Collingwood Terminals building.
At that time, council and representatives from several local arts groups pushed for 48 Ste. Marie St. as the best location of the two. However, concerns from councillors and the public pushed for other possible downtown locations to still be considered as part of Phase 3, including 140 Ste. Marie St. and the Pine St. public parking lot.
Based on Colliers’ findings from the Phase 3 business case, the 48 Ste. Marie Street lot was determined to be too constrained by size and bordering buildings, whereas 101 Pine Street offers greater flexibility in terms of height, layout, orientation, and future expansion possibilities.
The arts and culture centre is not anticipated to make a profit.
The annual operating budget is expected to run a deficit of about $250,000 or perhaps as much as $465,000 based on other centres currently operating in municipalities similar in size to Collingwood.
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 as well as Giaimo Architects.
To read the full staff report and Phase 3 arts centre feasibility study report, click here.
Council’s committee of the whole meeting takes place on Monday, July 8, starting at about 5 p.m. immediately following the regular council meeting. Any members of the public may attend in person in council chambers at Collingwood town hall, or virtually by Zoom webinar. The meeting will also be livestreamed on the town’s YouTube channel here.
