City sets stage (PENTICTON)

By John MoorhouseWednesday, July 18, 2007 http://www.pentictonherald.ca/stories.php?id=54659

After the bulldozers are finished with Nanaimo Hall, actors and musicians will be itching to move in. The soon-to-be-demolished hall property will be the site for a proposed new performing arts centre. Penticton council announced Monday night it has also purchased an adjoining property at 241 Ellis St. from long-time area resident Bud Clarke for $1.25 million. No borrowing or tax increase is required. Funds will come from the city‘s capital reserve fund, which currently sits at $900,000. Further funding will be realized through the sale of surplus city lands – former roadways next to Marina Way and in front of the Real Canadian Wholesale Club at Main Street and Carmi Avenue.

This sets the stage for the Penticton and District Performing Arts Facilities Society to launch a major fund-raising campaign to construct and operate the multimillion-dollar complex. Peter Graham, the society‘s vice-president, said he‘s ecstatic about the city‘s move. Although figures of $25 million to $30 million have been suggested by previous studies, Graham noted it hasn‘t been fully determined what a new facility would cost. “The first thing we want to do is firm up the numbers and come up with an overall financial plan,” he said. “We didn‘t expect this (land acquisition announcement) quite so soon, so we‘re hitting the ground running right now.” Some initial applications with government agencies have already been made, he added. Barry Reid, the city‘s director of special projects, said the site between Ellis and Robinson streets was chosen from among 24 locations reviewed for the facility. The site will be able to accommodate a theatre with seating for 750-800 people. A 150-seat studio theatre and smaller recital hall are also proposed. Parking should not be a problem, with some 2,000 publicly-owned parking spots in the immediate area.

City officials also suggest the performing arts facility could lead to the development of a new “cultural corridor” from the theatre northward alongside Penticton Creek to the Art Gallery of the South Okanagan. Mayor Jake Kimberley said final negotiations with Clarke over the sale of his Ellis Street property wrapped up Monday afternoon. The property was previously the site of warehouses for the former Clarke‘s Building Supply outlet in the 1970s. Kimberley noted the cost of purchasing the site is less than what it would have cost the city to preserve the Pen-Hi auditorium as an interim standalone facility. The school‘s auditorium and north gym are scheduled to be demolished next summer following completion of the Pen-Hi reconstruction project. He said the new theatre would include numerous amenities not available at the auditorium, including an orchestra pit, dressing rooms, and full washrooms. Pointing to the recent call by six former mayors to preserve the Pen-Hi auditorium, Kimberley suggested they may not have known the full facts surrounding the city‘s negotiations for a site. “I‘m somewhat concerned that comments have been made without fully reviewing the interests of the city and reasoning behind council‘s decision and directive on this issue,” he said. “The door, I would say, has been kicked open for the performing arts group to run with this and let‘s throw our support behind this.”

He added plans for a cultural corridor, linking the theatre to the art gallery, could help the entire downtown core. “This whole area certainly lends itself to a huge opportunity for the city of Penticton to develop a nice arts and culture community all the way through Ellis Street,” he said. “If you want to revitalize the downtown core, this is the way it will happen.” Council was unanimous in its support for the proposal, although Coun. John Vassilaki suggested the city put a three to five-year time limit for the society to complete its fundraising efforts. Coun. Randy Manuel countered with a prediction that he expects to be standing in the lobby of a new theatre complex within 30 to 36 months. A number of cultural community representatives in the public gallery applauded council‘s decision. Irwin Hobden, president of Community Concerts, said the prospect of a new performing arts facility makes this an exciting time in the community. “The old auditorium has its limits and we‘ve reached those limits,” Hobden said. “We know we can bring in entertainment world-wide that we can‘t do now because of the limitations of the old theatre.” City council has so far not been asked to contribute towards the capital cost of the complex, other than its offer of land. Since it would be located on city property, the facility would be legally owned by the city.
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Facility could reshape future http://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/
Jul 18 2007 EDITORIAL

The purchase of land for a new performing arts facility downtown could — and we stress could — reshape Penticton in a profound and meaningful way. Plans for a new performing arts facility received a major boost Monday when the city announced that it had purchased a lot near Nanaimo Hall for $1.25 million. That site, plus the Nanaimo Hall lot, will be large enough to accommodate such a new building. Many key questions about the facility, such as its final price tag and opening date, are still uncertain because it is up to the Penticton and District Performing Arts Facilities Society, rather than the city, to raise funds. We wish its members the best of luck as they move forward with their fundraising campaign and hope they paid attention to the events and circumstances which surrounded the early history of the South Okanagan Event Centre. But we cannot agree more with the city’s direction to actively support a new performing arts facility in the downtown core. Research from renowned academic Richard Florida shows a direct link between creativity and economic development. He argues that cities which appeal to creative workers like software designers, architects and artists prosper in today’s globalized economy. The opposite is the case for cities which lack certain technological and cultural amenities that appeal to the creative class.

Penticton, unfortunately, has fallen behind many communities in providing such amenities. Even smaller communities like Ashcroft and Nelson out-compete Penticton in attracting acts and events that appeal to younger, creative types. We only need to glimpse the latest census figures to witness the demographic atrophy currently gripping the South Okanagan. While the aging of our society has fueled an unprecedented real estate boom, this is hardly a solid foundation for growth and prosperity. A new performing arts facility will not guarantee these conditions in the future. Nor will the SOEC. The region must also become more like the rest of Canada in attracting immigrants whose backgrounds and values do not necessarily match the area’s social conservatism. But both facilities will help retain and attract the kind of people who want to build a future in Penticton rather than just live out their final years.