Farmers and artists are uniting in a downtown location. The City of Prince George is hoping the area's main two groups in their professions will inject new life and new economy into the downtown core - in fact, they are banking on it.
The Prince George Farmers' Market and the Prince George & District Community Arts Council (CAC) are set to take over the unused building located at 1310 Third Ave., which was most notably the former location of the Bank of Montreal. It was most recently owned by UNBC which transferred title to the City of Prince George for this downtown revitalization initiative.
It was announced on Tuesday that this was to eventually be the new home of the arts council and in the interim it would house the farmers' market.
The first physical move in this plan will take place in a matter of a couple of weeks. The farmers' market has been in a city-owned structure behind The Keg and kitty-corner from City Hall since 2011 but that site is slated to become a housing complex and underground parkade.
That construction is already underway.
The farmers' market will not be homeless, however, thanks to this change of addresses. President Philip Myatovic said he couldn't be more excited for the future of the organization with its quick shift over to 1310 Third Ave., on the corner of Third Avenue and Quebec Street.
It has the Via Rail Station and Tourism Prince George a couple of blocks to the north and the Two Rivers Gallery, Prince George Conference and Civic Centre and public library a short, direct line to the south.
"It's a bigger facility, more elaborate, more central, more focal," he said.
"The only thing we lack here is green space, but we will offset that with a premier facility."
The arts council is currently located at the Studio 2880 complex they have occupied for decades, but those buildings are at a condemned state or decrepit at best.
A move for this catalyst arts agency has long been desired and they took the city up on their offer of the old bank building. They expect to take possession and move their many guilds, workshops, gift shop, galleries and studios in about two years. So what is to become of the farmers' market when the arts council becomes the primary holder of the building?
Nothing, said CAC executive director Sean Farrell.
When the arts council and the City of Prince George get finished building the necessary additions to the place, "we absolutely want the Farmers' Market to stay with us, permanently, so we can all support each other to be the best of friends and do the best for downtown Prince George," Farrell said.
"What farmers do with their artisan products is very much like what artists do. It's a completely similar and complementary thing, making things with your hands or growing things, and making these all-local and all-unique products," Farrell added. "We want to be their partners in this. It's all about intersectionality, working together, making each other stronger, and the public is going benefit from this in amazing ways if we can get to that vision."
The arts council currently has three buildings that total approximately 30,000 square feet of space. The momentum of the organization indicated that none of that was wasted space, their member groups or potential member groups could use all that and more, especially if it was better arranged. The three buildings were inefficiently designed, not intended for these purposes and were falling apart in any case. They were formerly forestry buildings that the formative arts council was shoehorned into decades ago.
The arts council is once again getting a hand-me-down building in the form of the former bank, but the City of Prince George has offered to work with the arts organization on building whatever addition they require to turn this blank spot in the downtown into a vibrant, economy-boosting and lifestyle-boosting arts extravaganza spot.
"There has been no budget attached to this, and there has been no order given about moving out of their current location," said City of Prince George spokesperson Rob Van Adrichem. "They are going to consult with their membership and come back to us with the design they think is best for their needs. We will work from there, together."
"It's early and there's lots of work to be done but the City has been helpful in bringing our various organizations together to envision a new, arts-based destination, designed for modern creative and cultural activities and programming, while playing a role in downtown revitalization," said Farrell. "We've just begun the process of completing our business and facility plan and this will be our road map for the future at our new downtown location. Having a greater arts presence downtown has been talked about for decades and we have to take advantage of this opportunity to do it right."
"The concept of a public market place downtown that will connect the farmers' market with other local vendors and downtown businesses to create a festive atmosphere, and attract more people to the downtown, supports a long-standing vision of our organization," said Colleen Van Mook, executive director of Downtown Prince George.
The best part from the farmers' market's point of view is the ample parking available around the centre. A full service artists' and farmers' market needs plenty of space for the public to pull in, but also for their trucks and trailers to come and go, and for tents and pavilions to be set up outside. That exists in this new space.
It will go year round on Sundays as they currently do, said Myatovic, and it also holds the possibility of other special events on off-days.
Renovations are already underway to get ready for hosting the farmers' market as soon as possible.
