Collingwood is changing direction when it comes to a future arts centre in town.
Instead of coming up with the cost and figuring out how to pay for it later, council set a budget of $16.5 million for the town portion and told staff and consultants to envision a future Collingwood arts centre within that budget.
During a special council meeting on Jan. 6, councillors were faced with the revelation that the arts centre as it has been presented so far is likely out of sync with what the town can reasonably afford.
“I have to express how disappointed I am that we’re at the position we are today,” said Mayor Yvonne Hamlin. “We’ve been at this for a couple of years now, and we’re barely moved the needle.”
“After this decision today, I think it’s time to move the needle. This project cannot fail solely because of inertia. I feel inertia is weighing this down,” she said.
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.
With the $16.5 million number approved by councillors in a narrow 4-3 vote on Monday with Coun. Rob Ring, Coun. Kathy Jeffery and Deputy Mayor Tim Fryer opposed, and an expected $33.7 million funding from grants, sponsorships and upper levels of government, the total capital project cost will be reduced to $50.3 million.
Coun. Steve Perry was absent from the vote, and Coun. Brandon Houston is on a leave of absence.
Assuming fundraising can bring in $10 million and the amortization of the loan is spread over 30 years, the tax bill impact annually will amount to a one-per-cent increase for the project.
“It’s impossible in this stage, in my view, to know where the funds are going to come from,” said Hamlin. “We have no idea until we get going. At the end of the day, if we can’t raise the money, it’s not going anywhere.”
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.
To read the full Phase 3 arts centre feasibility study report, click here.
Also in July, council voted in favour of paying $40,000 more to consultant Colliers Project Leaders to hone in on the cost estimates for an arts centre in Collingwood, although the vote at that time was not unanimous with some councillors lamenting the amount already spent on the endeavour. As of that time, town representatives estimated they had spent $269,000 on various phases of the arts centre feasibility study up until that point.
The current amount in the town’s arts centre reserve is $1.24 million.
While the third phase of the arts centre feasibility study found that underground parking would add another $18.9 million to either arts centre option, town staff are currently recommending parking not be part of the arts centre project scope and will instead be funded separately and decided upon through a downtown parking planning exercise, expected to happen in 2025.
Coun. Deb Doherty said she thought a 600-seat theatre was too ambitious for Collingwood, pointing to only one other theatre in Simcoe County that can hold that many people, at Georgian College in Barrie.
“At this point in time, I would like to see us make a definitive step forward and not re-study this project. We know we need an arts facility,” she said. “I’m so afraid that this is going to get shelved.”
Ring said many of his decisions on the project would hinge on the location.
“The location is going to mean a lot, whether I support it or don’t,” he said. “The downtown tenants are against this location. Who are we appeasing if we put this downtown?”
Jeffery said she had difficulty deciding on an arts centre in a silo, when there are multiple competing financial priorities facing Collingwood at this time. Fryer agreed, noting that he’d prefer to wait until the town does more long-term financial planning before make such a major decision, which is expected to happen later in 2025.
“I would feel a lot better making a decision about a target not tied to a location,” said Jeffery. “We have so many projects ahead of us that are significantly costly.”
Now that council has voted to proceed with the cost and scope reduction for the project and explore other location options, Colliers will work with the arts centre steering committee to figure out what would be the best way to move ahead with the budget provided.
During Monday’s meeting, Dean Plater of Colliers estimated that the work would take between eight and 10 weeks, at which point a revised plan would come back to council for consideration.
