By Alice Ervin
The Elgin Street Concert Hall project has set a new deadline for obtaining federal funding.
Julian Armour, artistic director of the Ottawa Chamber Music Society, the group pushing the development, says his organization will wait until March before re-evaluating its options.
“We continue to remain hopeful that the funding will come through,” Armour says. “This is a very good deal for the government and we’ve put together a solid proposal.”
The hall has already obtained municipal and provincial funding and has been waiting approximately one year for federal funding approval.
The federal government would be expected to contribute $6.5 million.
“We do think the concept is a good one but we cannot predict at this point whether or not it will be approved,” says Valerie Hopper, a senior Arts and Heritage Consultant with the Ontario Region of Heritage Canada.
Although federal funding of the concert hall project was delayed by the federal election at the beginning of the year, Hopper declined to comment on timelines for the funding approval, saying only that “there isn’t any deadline for funding approval.”
If approved, the concert hall would be located at 150 Elgin St. The City of Ottawa has pledged to contribute $6.1 million to the concert hall fund, while the province has said it will give $6.5 million. Donations totalling $8.5 million from the private sector are also expected. The total projected cost of the hall is $27.6 million.
Paul Dewar, the NDP MP for Ottawa Centre, says he has been working closely with both parties to facilitate the funding application.
He says he hopes to hear from the federal government about the application before the new year.
“If I don’t, then I will put pressure on the government to come forward and tell us whether they’ll be committing to this.”
According to Dewar, funding proposals are evaluated within the appropriate ministry before being brought to the political level for final approval. He says the concert hall proposal is still at the ministry stage.
Armour says that if the Chamber Music Society’s personal deadline of March passes, the group will r-eexamine its options.
“We may gamble and build without the funding, or we may decide the project won’t go ahead,” Armour says.
He cautions that these are only preliminary option, and reiterated that the society continues to work closely with the government to review the application.
Dewar says it would be “a shame” if the project did not go ahead.
“What Julian and his group have argued is that this is a needed facility within the community, and it’s more than just about providing a space for the Chamber Music Society,” says Dewar.
“It is a multidimensional space for artists to come here and record. And the fact that it is built into an existing structure and stands alone passes the money test in and of itself.”
If the funding application is approved by Heritage Canada, the concert hall would likely open in 2008, says the Chamber Music Society.