A downtown arts hub in Prince George is one step closer to becoming a reality.
City council voted unanimously to support an application for grant funding under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) – Community, Culture and Recreation Infrastructure substream.
The project, led by the Community Arts Council of Prince George and District (CAC), would see a Downtown Creative Arts Hub located at 1310 3 Ave., which is an old BMO bank building and current site for the indoor Farmer’s Market.
Council has also committed $1.5 million out of city reserves for the $5.62-million project, with the remaining $4.12 million eligible to be funded from provincial and federal grants.
“I am thrilled about this project, it has been in the works for a very long time and it needed to be formalized in this manner,” said Coun. Terri McConnachie.
“I think with the arts hub it will add to the vibrancy of our downtown and don’t underestimate the economic impact of the arts community.”
CAC leases two buildings at 2820 and 2880 15 Ave., collectively referred to as Studio 2880, which are 78-years-old and require significant investment to maintain the buildings in a useable state.
Studio 2880's current location. (via Google Maps)CAC recently pursued a feasibility study, partially funded by the city, for the relocation and redevelopment of 1310 3 Ave. as a Downtown Creative Arts Hub in Prince George.
The study confirmed that both the size and location of the building would be suitable, but the building needs renovations to provide universal access and open floor plans that support the function of a shared and flexible space for a collaborative public centre of the arts.
If the grant application successful it would net provincial and federal funding of close to three quarters ($4.12 million) of the total project costs and be followed by design work in 2021 and construction in subsequent years and full project completion by 2026.
“I can’t remember the last time I saw this much money coming in even if it’s from other levels of government,” said Coun. Brian Skakun.
“The arts community, as a whole, has been pushing for something like this.”
Coun. Murry Krause also noted the city also has options to fund its portion of costs through the Northern Capital Planning Grant.
“That was a bit of a surprise grant program from the province so they gave money to northern communities exactly for capital or planning purposes,” explained Adam Holmes.
“We can’t use it for operational expenses but we can do capital work with it and it is really up to council’s discretion how we use that money. It is a really nice flexible program for this.”
The exact financial breakdown for the ICIP grant program for the $5.62 million project is as follows: The federal contribution is up to 40 per cent of eligible project costs and the provincial contribution is up to 33 per cent, for a total grant contribution of $4.12 million with the city’s portion of the project cost at $1.5 million.
That means senior governments would fund up to 73 per cent of the total project costs with just 26 per cent funded by the applicant.
ICIP grant funding announcements are expected in the summer of 2021.
