Update on the new Performing Arts Centre in St. Catharines

There has been much anticipation about the new St. Catharines Performing Arts Centre, set to rise on the vacant site at the corner of St. Paul and Carlisle Streets in downtown St. Catharines.  This week, city council heard a presentation from Gary McCluskie, lead architect from Diamond + Schmitt Architects in Toronto on the project, and there was both good news and bad news on Monday evening.

The good news is council unanimously endorsed the design and budget for the project; the bad news is the endorsed project is both smaller and costlier than originally planned.  Smaller insofar as fewer seats in each of the four venues in the complex and less office space and front-of-house space than originally proposed.  Most people seem to agree the reductions are manageable, although Janis Barlow, representing the user group committee providing input on the project, has suggested in no uncertain terms any further reductions would clearly reduce the viability of the centre.  In other words, smaller is not always better.

But the increased costs involved are somewhat troubling.  The original price tag of $ 54 million has now grown to $ 60.7 million, up $ 6.5 million.  Government funding remains the same, at $ 42 million combined from the federal and provincial governments, with the remainder expected to be raised within the community.  To that end, the city has decided to hire a professional fundraiser to narrow that gap and come up with the necessary extra funds.  Let's hope that person is very good, whomever he or she may be, as one worries this might not be the only increase in the cost of the project.  In addition, while I sense many in the community are behind the project as it stands, further increase in costs would not be welcome by the public at large, I suspect.

So, basically, we are left with a smaller complex that will cost more.  Where have we heard that before, eh?  Seriously, though, I doubt many would care about the shrinking office or front-of-house space unless it directly impacts them, of course, and the reduction in seating in each venue is not large, so most will not even notice it, one hopes.

I echo those thoughts, but worry about the costs involved for the tenants we are building the performing arts centre for.  I have stated in this space before we have to keep it affordable for the groups using the facility, but a discussion on this with one member of one of those user groups last month signalled alarm bells for this reporter many tenants might well be priced out of the marketplace if they have to increase ticket prices in order to meet the increased rent to use the facility.  Then where will we be?  A white elephant while those same user groups retreat to their old venues once again?  We can't afford to let that happen, so it is imperative everyone involved realize this has to be affordable for all concerned, on both sides of the footlights.

There is still time to work out the problems and keep this project on the rails, but with final design details nearing completion, I think it would be best to deal with any concerns people have sooner rather than later.  I have long been a big supporter of the new St. Catharines Performing Arts Centre and remain so to this day; but let's keep this a user-friendly facility everyone will be proud of for years to come.  It will be the jewel of our downtown and indeed our Region so long as costs are kept under control and the design is not further watered down.

November 24th, 2011.