Construction of Place des Arts to begin in Sudbury

On Monday, the Place des Arts received its building permit from the City of Greater Sudbury. Construction of the $30 million facility will now begin according to The Sudbury Star.

The local firm, Belanger Construction, was selected to lead the first phase of construction. The contractor will start work on October 23. As a result, the parking lot located between Larch and Elgin Streets and Medina Lane will become a permanent construction site as of that date.

"Since the end of the summer, our architects and the entire Place des Arts team have been working closely with the City of (Greater) Sudbury's Building Services Division to obtain our building permit. It was a race against the clock to get work started on the site before soil freeze-up. So, this is excellent news for us."

President of the Place des Arts | Stephane Gauthier

Place de Arts will cost $30 million and will be Northern Ontario's first multi-disciplinary arts and culture centre. It will be home to eight cultural organizations and will host 850 events in it's first year and will generate 50,000 admissions. The estimated economic effects of construction are $18.7 million along with the creation of 180 jobs. 

"The city is working to inform users of the parking lot that it will be closed in a week. Our team got a head start during the summer with an information campaign for downtown store and business owners. Nearby businesses have all had the opportunity to learn more about the project's schedule and the nature of the work that was imminent. Now, the next step is shovels in the ground."

President of the Place des Arts | Stephane Gauthier

The first phase of work will be to prepare the ground for construction which will include excavating contaminated soil and backfilling with reinforced and engineered soils.

The second phase will be the construction of the building and will start as soon as possible in early spring and will continue until 2020.

Money for this project came from the following:

 - Canadian Heritage

 - FedNor

 - Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation

 - Ministry of Tourism

 - Culture and Sport

 - City of Greater Sudbury

Per Northern Ontario Business, the 60,000 square foot building will include a bar and restaurant area that will hold 100 people which is ideal for performances by local artists, a smaller "black box" theatre with 150 seats and larger theatre with 300 seats. Shops for creating theatre costumes and props, artists' studios, administrative space will be included and perhaps even a francophone daycare. 

The federal government has contributed $12.5 million, the province $8.25 million, and the city $5 million, with fundraising by the group expected to cover the remainder of the cost. Greater Sudbury is expected to provide $200,000 a year in operating funds.

The facility is the first of some really big projects that are being supported by city council this term to begin construction. The Kingsway Entertainment District - a new $100 million arena, $60 million casino and hotel - is bogged down in a legal fight at the province's Local Planning Appeals Tribunal, with its first hearing set for November 6.

The Junction, which includes a new art gallery, library and convention centre, is to be built on the site of the former arena. However, city council has yet to formally commit to building the roughly $100 million project.