By Greg Hoekstra
Ottawa taxpayers may be forced to pay one-quarter of the cost to develop a world-class, $22-million concert hall downtown.
During a crucial corporate services committee meeting, Mayor Bob Chiarelli launched into a passionate plea, shifting the question from “how can we afford to do this?” to “how can we afford not to do this?”
“A lot of people will complain it’s too much going into the arts, but the fact of the matter is you’re also meeting other
important infrastructures,” Chiarelli said.
The committee later approved the development, which includes a 925-seat concert hall, 162 affordable housing units and a winter garden arts plaza, all to be built at 150 Elgin St.
The plan — which will cost the city $5.47 million — must still be approved by city council later this month, but project director Julian Armour is optimistic after last week’s meeting.
“I was thrilled…it’s very courageous of these politicians to vote this way. They know it’s right, they know it’s good for the city.”
But not all councillors agree there is a need for such a development.
“If we weren’t under tremendous financial pressures it’s probably something I could accept,” said Coun. Doug Thompson, adding “I’d rather be able to provide better ambulance service than build a concert hall.”
And that’s where the controversy starts — councillors are now debating if the city has the capacity to fund the project, rather than if it should.
Capital Ward Coun. Clive Doucet saw this as a “downward spiral of defeat.”
“We have cultural priorities just as we have garbage priorities. I find the debate about one priority negating another is very destructive,” he said.
Armour predicts the hall would bring the city $20 million annually in direct spending.
Likewise, the hall would help Ottawa satisfy the 20/20 Arts & Heritage Plan, eliminating the need for further spending.
The last major investment in an arts facility was the construction of Nepean’s Centrepointe theatre 17 years ago, but Ottawa’s population has grown nearly 40 per cent since.
“Somehow in this city people think that one concert hall is sufficient for almost one million people. It’s not. It’s crazy,” said Doucet.
As the nation’s capital, Ottawa benefits from the presence of the National Arts Centre, but as a federal operation community access is limited.
“We’ve depended on the NAC satisfying the audience locally but we’ve done nothing to promote our own local artists within their own spaces,” Peter Honeywell, executive director of the Council for the Arts in Ottawa, said in an interview.
If 150 Elgin St. becomes a reality, a community access plan will ensure affordable rental rates, preferred rates for Ottawa musicians, and various scheduling options.
Several major festivals have committed to the facility, including Ottawa’s International Jazz Festival, Bluesfest, and the Ottawa Folk Festival. Nearly two dozen choirs have also signed on, estimated to generate about $40,000 per year in rehearsal and performance fees.
This boost to the artistic community — if approved by council — would come only five months after budget deliberations threatened to severely cut arts funding.
That threat sparked outrage and city-wide protests, which some community arts leaders, such as Honeywell, feel could explain council’s turnaround.
“I think that’s still ringing in people’s ears. I don’t think we’ve just wiped the slate clean.”