The curtain is closer to rising at the Ancaster Memorial Arts Centre thanks to a $1.5 million grant from the federal government for the project.
In a recent announcement, Liberal MP Filomena Tassi said the money is from the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund and called it, “significant,” as this is one of the largest grants of its kind in the country.
The site of the $16.5-million project is at the former Ancaster Memorial School, from which the property was purchased by the City of Hamilton from the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board in 2014 for $2.6 million.
The idea of the centre was brought forth by a consortium of local arts groups who approached Ward 12 City Councillor Lloyd Ferguson with an issue of space.
“After decades they no longer had suitable facilities for their programming. Councillor Ferguson arranged for the City to purchase the surplus Ancaster Memorial School for this purpose and retained Invizij (Architects) to begin the design process,” said the centre’s executive director, Colin Lapsley.
The federal grant makes up the fourth and final component of the project’s funding strategy to allow the project to go full steam ahead.
The arts centre will be a jewel in the crown of Hamilton
— Bob Wilkins
Ancaster BIA
Other contributors are the City of Hamilton, who put forth $8 million; the Province of Ontario who ponied up $3 million; and to date, through private community efforts, $3.6 million has been donated through various businesses and arts enthusiasts.
Private donations are still being accepted, including those with naming opportunities and those wishing to participate in the Theatre Ancaster Donation Matching Campaign.
“Theatre Ancaster offered to match donations of any of their patrons to a maximum of $50,000. This was successful; in one season their patrons donated $50,000 and the company matched for a total donation of $100,000,” said Lapsley.
The cost of the project jumped from an original price tag of $12 million due to some design issues. As a result, the city was forced to sell off three extra parcels of land to finance it. This is on top of the city already selling a portion of the property behind the former school to construct 24 senior residential units.
To date, zoning for the property has been completed, the site plan is underway and the building permit submitted to the city. Tenders will be issued in October, giving a clearer indication of the true project cost.
Ferguson is cautioning of higher potential construction costs due to the recent increase in steel tariffs. The councillor is using other Hamilton-area projects as an indication, as he is seeing their costs jump due to the higher cost of materials. With that in mind, Lapsley intends to continue working with Tassi’s office with the hopes the federal government will “find more funds” for the project and its ongoing costs.
Upon completion, the Ancaster Memorial Arts Centre, which is located in Ancaster Village, will have a 450-seat theatre, a studio theatre, gallery and multiple rooms for art, theatre, and dance.
The facility has been designed in accordance with the Ancaster BIA’s zoning criteria with minimum setbacks between the buildings and its Wilson Street Secondary plan.
These factors, according to the BIA, have served to maintain “this unique heritage community.”
The theatre will be steps from the Fieldcote Memorial Park and Museum, the Ancaster Farmers Market, the Old Fire Hall Arts Centre as well as many historic galleries, shops, restaurants and a boutique hotel, The Barracks Inn.
“The arts centre will be a jewel in the crown of Hamilton,” said BIA chair Bob Wilkins, who formed the BIA in 2006 with the intent of promoting and preserving the historic Ancaster Village.
With the combination of government grants and ongoing community support, tenders are due to be going out in the coming weeks and therefore breaking ground could occur in early 2019 with a grand opening in late 2020.
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