Facility Master Plan Information For the purpose of this study, there are approximately 35 recreation and cultural facilities, plus outdoor open spaces with amenities such as sports fields, including:
Cultural Facilities Arts Centres, Art Galleries, Performing Arts Theatres, Japanese Gardens, Fort Whoop Up
Outdoor Nature Nature Centre, Picnic Shelters
Sports/Recreation Ball Diamonds, Ball Stadiums, Curling Club, Gymnasiums, Football Stadium, Ice Centres, Lawn Bowling, Rectangular Sportsfields, Soccer Centre (Indoor), Swimming Pools & Spray Park, Skateboard/BMX, Tennis Courts, Track
Other ENMAX Centre, Senior Centres, Shooting Range
Finance Committee Meeting held on Tuesday, May 8, 2007 outlined the City of Lethbridge Community Services 2008 – 2017 Capital Improvement Plan Capital Projects Discussion of this report resulted in questions with respect to the following: • Clarification on rebuilding or relocating the Bowman Arts Centre, * ownership of land that borders that facility and whether it is a designated historical site • Structural condition of the Bowman Arts Centre • Grants available for historic sites • Cost of a new multicultural facility and whether this figure includes the land • Discussion with the Allied Arts Council and their desire to relocate • Planning required for a Performing Arts Centre • Planning complete for the ENMAX Centre renovation and any availability of grants • Clarification on the Major Community Facilities Program (MCFP) Grant • Possibility of a regional performing arts facility and working collaboratively with other municipalities in applying for grants • Review of past CIP and the proposed CIP that identified a different way of organizing and labelling some of the material • Confidence in the figures presented in the CIP that they will accurately achieve the proposed projects http://www.lethbridge.ca/NR/rdonlyres/F04E6255-577A-4160-BB9 4-9F168EAAFB6A/8117/May82007Finance.pdf
Yates and Sterndale Bennett Theatres
The Yates Memorial Centre (1002 - 4 Ave S), situated in downtown Lethbridge, adjacent to City Hall, at is owned and operated by the City of Lethbridge (Recreation & Culture).
Yates Memorial Centre opened May 1, 1966. Mr. Deane R. Yates, a prominent and successful Lethbridge retailer, bequeathed $200,350 to be used as a memorial fund and to be known as the Genevieve E. Yates Memorial to erect in the Civic Centre in the City of Lethbridge, a cultural building equal to the needs of the City of Lethbridge.
Bookings, Community Services - (403)320-3009 Head Technician, Yates Theatre - (403)315-9405
City of Lethbridge - Special Interest Committees (Committees that remain in existence permanently in order to deal with a particular issue and to which Elected Officials are appointed.)
Terms of Reference Updated: July 2009 PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE STEERING COMMITTEE
Membership: Two (2) member of City Council and One (1) Alternate One (1) representative of the Allied Arts Council (Chair) One (1) representative from each of the following groups: Dramatic Arts; Music; Dance; Performance Promotion; University of Lethbridge Ex Officio – City Administration (Community Services Director or Designate and Facility Services Manager
Mandate: To guide the development of a schematic design to meet the future needs for the performing arts in Lethbridge.
Meetings Held: Work is anticipated to begin May 2009 and be completed by February 2010 Monthly Meetings. More active participation in the community consultation phase Contact: City Clerk’s Office - 320-3822
Requirements of Board:
Consultant selection
Common statement of purpose and vision for the future facility requirements
Development of a functional space program
Review site considerations
Development of a schematic design sufficient for capital costing for budget deliberations
Development of a business plan for the proposed
MEMBERSHIP Barbra Lacey and Shaun Ward (Jeff Carlson is Alternate) Allied Arts Council Representative: Les Ostrowski Dramatic Arts: Stephen Graham Music: George Evelyn Dance: Betty Poulsen Performance Promotion: Jeremy Mason University of Lethbridge: Desmond Rochfort, Dean of Fine Arts Ex Officio – City Administration (Community Services Director or Designate; and Facility Services Manager
Committee established and Terms of Reference approved March 23, 2009
Committee work is anticipated to begin May 2009 and be completed by February 2010
__________________ "What have you done today to make you feel PROUD? (Proud, Heather Small)
Local architecture team working on recommendation for new performing arts centre Dec 04, 2009 Source: Patrick Burles-- Country 95 News
A new performing arts centre is looking more and more realistic in our city's future. Local architecture team Ferrari Westwood Babits(fwbarch.com) has been selected by the Performing Arts Centre Steering Committee, to come up with a plan for the facility. The team has already met with different groups and people in the arts sector of Lethbridge who would use the facility, and toured other local venues to study the existing arts audience and population trends.
Art Ferrari with Ferrari Westwood Babits explained that now they have to work with other consultants to see where that information points them. He commented that they'll need to come up with recommendations on size, seating and other design based on what they've learned so far. They also want to see what different properties would attract performers who normally wouldn't make stops in Lethbridge.
Ferrari Westwood Babits will bring their plan and recommendations to council by April 30, 2010 so it can be considered during budget deliberations in the Fall.
Exploring Trends in Theatre Design January 14, 2010 (Thurs) ~ 7:30 pm Yates Memorial Theatre
Another step in the process of a new Performing Arts Centre in Lethbridge includes presentations by experts in theatre design, sound and management Presented by the City of Lethbridge Performance Arts Centre Steering Committee
Arts Re:Building Together Campaign initiated by Allied Arts Council (artslethbridge.org)
~~~~~
Performing Arts Take Centre Stage Lethbridge Herald Sherri Gallant January 3, 2010
In mid-January, city residents will have the chance to glimpse possibilities for a new performing arts centre in Lethbridge. An information session set for 7:30 pm Jan. 14, 2010 at the Yates Theatre will begin with a presentation by experts in theatre design, sound and management from Chicago, New York and Connecticut. The consultants — Theatre Projects Consultants, Threshold Acoustics and Webb Management Services — have been retained by Ferrari Westwood Babits Architects, the firm hired by the city to assemble a master-planning team. No money has been allocated from any level of government other than the seed money provided by the city toward this conceptual work, which is now well under way, and if the project goes ahead it may well be a decade before any curtains would rise. But the team is hard at work on capital and technical requirements and a business plan, based on information gleaned from existing studies and community input - still more of which is to come. “As a member of the steering committee, I’ve had the opportunity to sit in on one of (the consulting team’s) major presentations, and it truly is amazing,” said George Evelyn, long-time music professor at the University of Lethbridge, now retired, and an internationally recognized bass-baritone and choral conductor. “What has been done over the last few years and what is being done as we speak is very exciting. Given the last couple of years, one is always looking to get the biggest bang for the fewest bucks. If the well were bottomless it’s just amazing what’s out there, but it’s become pretty crystal clear that if something happens in Lethbridge, it’s going to have to be a multi-use type of theatre because the arts community in this city is very vibrant and diverse.” At the information session, consultants will offer a multi-media presentation followed by questions and answers and refreshments. It’s one of a number of opportunities the community will have to ask questions and share opinions and suggestions.
Conceptual plans are to be ready by spring, perhaps the beginning of May, in time for council to consider them during deliberations for the 2011-2014 capital plan. Potential downtown locations include the former Bridge Inn property in the 300 block of 1 Avenue South, which the city bought several years ago, as well the former IGA property which the city recently bought for $4.4 million. Evelyn said placement is crucial not only in terms of public access, but in relation to possibilities for spinoff growth around such a site. “We’re really hopeful that as many people who are curious and supportive — even those who aren’t supportive — need to understand why this is important,” he said. “The steering committee is very hopeful that this building will be not used just on Friday and Saturday nights; that there will be an educational component involved in this, and the possibility of music and dramatic arts and dance involved in it from the ground up. “The community needs something like this. There are just too many wonderful artistic things going on here. Many people just have no idea about what a complex like this can bring to the quality of life in the community. “I keep thinking about over the years, the 26 years I was at the university, and how wonderful it would have been for my choirs to have been able to perform in an acoustically fine room http://www.lethbridgeherald.com/content/view/135742/110/
~~~~~
May 3, 2010 (Monday) 7 pm
Southminster
United Church
Performing Arts Centre Steering Committee and Ferrari Westwood Babits Architects
invite you to an information session
Research findings from the Performing Arts Facilities Needs
Assessment will be presented, and possibilities for the future Performing
Arts Centre in Lethbridge will be discussed.
This informative evening will include a question and answer period with
the consultants and opportunities for the public to get involved in the future
of this important cultural facility.
Edited by Tyler on 24 April 2010 at 2:26pm
__________________ "What have you done today to make you feel PROUD? (Proud, Heather Small)
City plans sure to strike a chord with musicians Written by Dave Mabell Lethbridge Herald May 13, 2010
Downtown Lethbridge could soon welcome more than 600 youthful students. City council has granted tentative approval for plans to add a music conservatory to the city’s new Community Arts centre, now being designed. The conservatory’s instrumental and voice students currently take their lessons in studios at the University of Lethbridge, council members were told. But enrolment is limited by space available after hours in the university’s performing arts centre. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Ald. Shaun Ward, who advanced the project during debate over the city’s capital improvement program for the next three years. “It could change the face of our downtown and be a catalyst for more positive change.” About 600 students enrol in the program each semester, Ward said, and they’re taught by 44 local musicians. But more could be accommodated in a larger space, more easily accessible from all parts of the city. At the same time, pointed out Mayor Bob Tarleck, moving the conservatory downtown would be a major step in bringing more post-secondary students into the city’s core — an initiative undertaken by many cities. That, he said, “does nothing but help revitalize those communities.” Sitting as the city’s finance committee, council approved an addition of up to $4 million to plans — currently estimated at $11.3 million — for a new community arts facility on the former IGA grocery site on 3 Avenue South. That would pay for a third floor, with ample space for the conservatory’s present and future needs. Debate over the proposal, not previously heard by council, ended with a split vote. But earlier in the afternoon, there was little debate over the need for a $26 million police station expansion, a $16 million transit centre improvement or a $5 million upgrade at the Bill Kergan Centre. Council also readily approved a matching $4.7 million capital grant to the Lethbridge Exhibition board and a $4 million expansion of the city’s network of pathways. Also readily approved were plans for a $4.9 million west-side operations depot for sanding and snow removal, and a $1.4 million parks maintenance depot somewhere on the city’s southside. As well, council members approved a $150,000 study which could lead to construction of a multi-use “leisure centre.” These and other proposals will be outlined during public information sessions later this month and next, and then considered again at a council meeting June 14. Final approval is not expected until early July. Moving the school downtown, Ward said, was first mooted when the university was offered the Penny Building — previously Capital Furniture. But university officials determined the facility was not suited to that purpose. Ward said adding the conservatory to the Community Arts Centre, planned to replace the aging Bowman Arts Centre, would add life to “Heart of the City” proposals for an “arts district” to the east of Galt Gardens. It would later be joined by a performing arts centre, replacing the 50-year-old Yates Centre, to be included in a future three-year capital plan. The school’s operating costs would be covered by student fees, and Tarleck won support for an amendment which would invite the U of L — or possibly a university donor who supports the arts — to cover part of the $4 million capital cost. But not everyone on council was convinced. Aldermen Rajko Dodic, Ryan Parker and Margaret Simmons said they had been given too little information. “It would be a wonderful addition to the arts community downtown,” said Simmons. But the proposal’s unexpected presentation “and the lack of information scares me.”
Community Arts Centre Description as per the City of Letbridge's 2011-2020 Capital Improvement Program (item D-5) as being reviewed by City Council June 2010
Total Cost: $20,730,000 Funding Sources: MSI Grant $14,530,000, and Build Canada Fund $6,000,000
Anticipated Completion: 2012
This project will create approximately 2,500 square metres of programming space in support of community arts education. It will include studios, exhibit areas, and workshop space, administrative areas, and meeting rooms.
The current Bowman Arts Centre runs visual and speech arts programs for adults, children, and special needs adults throughout the year. The Centre houses a variety of community arts groups (Lethbridge
Sketch Club, Jolliffe Academy of Dancing, OldmanRiver Potters Guild,
Lethbridge Handicraft Guild, Textile Surface Design Guild, and
Lethbridge Stained Glass Society). Numerous other arts and community groups use various rooms for their meetings, education programs, and workshops.
Originally built as a school, the building was converted to an arts centre administered by the Allied Arts Council in 1964. The facility is too small and no longer meets the functional requirements of the community arts user groups.
The Community Arts Centre will also be the new home of the University of Lethbridge Conservatory of Music which offers non-credit musiclessons in Lethbridge to over 600 students per semester in both private and ensemble classes
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Topic: ARTS FACILITY
