A modern design was shown to the public on Friday for the Place des Arts Sudbury project that has been taking shape at the corner of Elgin and Larch Streets in the downtown area. The Provincial Minister of Francophone Affairs, Caroline Mulroney revealed the design along with MP Marc Serre and Mayor Brian Bigger at the public unveiling according to Ludwig-Van Toronto.
"We have spent 10 years working on this, but the community has been dreaming and hoping for this for 50 years. In fact, the Place des Arts organization has dealt with the death of its former director of development and other dramas along a long and sometimes difficult road to see the project through to shovels in the ground in late 2018 after a few inevitable delays."
President of Place des Arts du Grand Sudbury | Stephane Gauthier
The new arts space will be the realization of a dream by the Regroupement des organismes culturels de Sudbury, which is a coalition of seven professional francophone arts organizations from Greater Sudbury. Carrefour francophone, the oldest of the organizations, has been in existence since 1960.
The space will be devoted to bold works and artistic collaborations in an environment that is tolerant, goal oriented, and respectful of the environment. But, more importantly, the new arts complex is being called a "flagship building" for the burgeoning Nouvel-Ontario francophone cultural movement. It is hoped that it will become a focal point for francophone culture in the province.
Organizers have been working on the design for about 10 years. The project was awarded to the consortium of Yallowega Belanger Salach Architecture and Moriyama Teshima Architects. They are based in Toronto and Sudbury and responsible for a number of projects with a cultural theme including the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa and the Ismali Centre in Toronto.
The building will be four stories high and 40,000 square feet. It was inspired by Northern Ontario's industrial past and present. Besides using glass, the exterior will be made with corten steel which looks rust-like over years of exposure to the weather.
The francophone community along with the city and province are hoping that the new centre will jump-start redevelopment in the downtown area. The city has committed to $5 million in land transfer funding and the provincial government has commited $3.5 million towards the project under the former Liberal government. The Place des Arts organization founders, Stephane Gauthier and Martin Lajeunesse, even went knocking on doors to raise the extra $22 million that is needed to get the project completed, including a private donor campaign and funding from FedNor which is a regional development organization and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation.
The multi-functional structure will also include the following:
- Early childhood arts centre that can hold up to 15 children each day
- 120 seat studio
- 299 fixed seat concert hall
- A stylish bistro
- Contemporary art gallery
- Gift and book shop
- Offices
- Meeting rooms
Services will be provided in French and English with most performances in French. Currently, plans are to present about 850 cultural activities annually and project about 50,000 additional visitors to Sudbury's downtown core each year due to the Centre.
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The budget for the project is $30 million and is estimated to create about 180 jobs for the construction period of about 24 months. The site has already been prepared and Phase 2 of construction is expected to begin at the end of spring 2019. The official opening is projected for the end of 2020.
According to Greater Grand Sudbury, the audience for Francophone cultural activities in Greater Sudbury has been increasing in recent decades and existing facilities no longer meet the needs of artists or the demands of a growing audience. Place des Arts will address the critical arts infrastructure shortage and provide a home for the project's seven founding organizations. The facility will also provide much needed space for Anglophone organizations and audiences through its rental offerings. When the centre opens, it will create an estimated 29 jobs.
There are approvimately 4,000 public and private parking spaces available downtown, including metered on street parking spaces on nearby streets and large open air parking lots including one across from the future Place des Arts site.
See DataBid blog titled: Construction of Place des Arts to begin in Sudbury
DataBid is currently reporting on this project - La Place des Arts du Grand Sudbury Phase I - Site (0020072518)
