The City of Prince George is looking to convert the current site of the Prince George Farmers' Market into a new downtown creative arts hub.
On Monday, city council approved the submission of a grant application to the provincial and federal governments for $4.12 million in funding towards the estimated $5.62 million project.
If the grant is successful, the project would provide a new home for the Community Arts Council of Prince George and District, city director of infrastructure services Adam Homes said, allowing the city to close and sell off the land where Studio 2880 is located.
"Right now Studio 2880 is working out of buildings that were built in the 1940s," Homes said. "This will allow us to divest of two very old buildings."
The Studio 2880 buildings are 78 years old, a report to city council said, and an estimated $470,000 in repairs and upgrades are needed over the next 10 years.
The front end of the proposed downtown creative arts hub, 1310 Third Ave., is currently home to a temporary location for the farmers' market. Some city staff are currently using the offices in the rear of the building, but would relocate back to the 18th Avenue city yard when the project is completed.
"Studio 2880 has needed to move for a long time. So I'm excited if it comes to fruition," Coun. Murry Krause said. "It looks like the plan is moving forward."
The funding would be used for renovations to provide universal access, create an open floor plan, and upgrade aging building infrastructure, the report says.
Once complete, the project would provide a flexible space for regional artists, promote visitors to the downtown and improve access for visitors, according to the report.
"Our contribution would be $1.5 million," Homes said. "We own the facility and will continue to own it."
That amount is equivalent to the cost of the modernization and improvements needed for the building.
The funding being applied for it is part of the Canada Infrastructure Program allocated to rural and northern communities, city finance director Kris Dalio said.
"It was a bit of a surprise grant program," Dalio said. "We can do capital projects with it. It has really no restrictions other than that."
If the grant application is successful, construction could begin in 2022.
"It will contribute to the vibrancy of our downtown," Coun. Terri McConnachie said. "I've been in (Community Arts Council program manager Lisa Redpath's) office. The stairs down the basement are frightening. The sooner we can get them downtown, the better."
Coun. Brian Skakun said it was good to seeing funding opportunities for the city coming from the provincial and federal government.
"I can't recall when we've seen this much money coming in," he said.
Community Arts Council executive director Sean Farrell said the building was originally purchased by the city with the intent of turning into an arts hub. The group's feasibility study looked at the potential to share the space with the farmers' market, but that didn't prove to be practical.
Once complete, the project will offer the arts council the ability to host a wide range of arts programming on site and provide space for the city's growing indigenous arts community as well, he added.
"It will allow us to do a lot more outdoor events. People will be able to come in and see a wide range of live art," Farrell said. "We offer a lot programs for... vulnerable individuals. We've never had the space to run them here (at Studio 2880). "
It's been 20 years since the community saw a major investment in local arts, he said.
"We think the arts community will play a huge and tangible role in the revitalization of downtown, " Farrell said. "That's really where we feel we want to be."
