Skip to content

Elliot Lake seeks federal funds for $27-million arts centre

Proposed arts and culture centre would occupy about half of the former civic centre off Highway 108
2023-03-27-proposedartshub
This is a rendition of the Elliot Lake Arts and Culture Centre by artist Brook McIlroy.

Elliot Lake has filed an application to the federal government to help pay for a planned $27-million theatre arts centre.

The building is a different version of the $21 million arts hub originally planned to be constructed on the site of the former civic centre off Highway 108 on a 4.6-acre lot adjacent to the city's Tim Hortons.

The application was filed at the end of February with an estimated cost of $27 million including $23 million for construction costs plus contingencies and soft costs (engineering etc) to get to the $27 million estimate. The city hopes to get some $14.5 million from the federal government’s Green and Inclusive Community Grant Fund.

Elliot Lake would help make up the difference with $2.5 million from the city arts reserve set aside as part of an insurance settlement from the civic centre which saw a roof collapse due to snow load in February 2019 which closed the building and resulted in it being demolished.

A portion of the insurance money (about $1 million) is being used to create studio spaces for artists to do their work in the former Lake Theatre building downtown. The studio renovations have also received $750,000 in FedNor funding.

If less is spent on the studio work, any insurance money left over would be allocated to the theatre build. If all goes ahead, the city might sit with $10 million in fundraising to cover all the costs of the theatre and would move forward to attempt to find other funding sources in the community and outside.

Other funding sources are currently being looked at. The city applied for a grant in 2021 for a slightly larger building that would have housed a theatre and studio spaces. That project was estimated to cost $21 million.

The $27 million estimate to build a smaller facility is due largely to the rise in inflation and costs of building materials.

The city filed its first application in July 2021 and got word it had been denied almost 10 months later. There is no indication of when Elliot Lake might hear whether its current application is successful.

City CAO Daniel Gagnon brought the idea of making a second application for funding from the federal government to council’s attention in December last year and was told to move ahead with the planning and preparation of the application.

The city is expected to release more information on its website later today in a bid to update the public and halt speculation about the property on social media and what it plans to do with the site. What is clear is that the theatre would take up about half the property on the north side and council could decide to sell off the other half for private development.


What's next?


If you would like to apply to become a Verified reader Verified Commenter, please fill out this form.


Discussion


About the Author: Kris Svela

Kris Svela has worked in community newspapers for the past 36 years covering politics, human interest, courts, municipal councils, and the wide range of other topics of community interest
Read more