COLUMN: Cost will be key to performing arts centre talks

The mostly unspoken concern about a new performing arts centre in Barrie, or community cultural hub, is what it could cost.

How much would it cost to build? Where would the money come from? And how much would it cost to operate on an annual basis?

And the operative word is 'would', rather than 'will', because this city council has not yet decided to approve or fund this facility, which is reasonable since its members were just elected — or re-elected — last October.

There’s little question about the need.

The W.A. Fisher Auditorium on the former Barrie Central Collegiate site on Dunlop Street West was demolished, Georgian Theatre and its 680 seats is aging, and the Five Points Theatre is just too small, with 120 to 200 seats.

A city of Barrie’s size needs a modern theatre for not only its own performing arts community, but to showcase outside acts.

Exactly what Barrie gets is the next question.

More than a year ago, the city’s performing arts centre (PAC) task force recommended a maximum $53.1-million, 66,500-square-foot facility with 900- and 350-seat theatres, plus a 5,000-sq.-ft. multi-purpose room on the Fisher auditorium site. That capital cost could be much more today.

The city hired a consultant, Hariri Pontarini Architects (HPA), to review the task force’s choice and HPA came back with the cultural hub model — featuring a central commons area, a mid-size, 600-seat theatre, recital hall, screening room, multiple teaching and learning spaces, and arts offices. 

Also of note, the hub would prioritize a diverse range of uses and regular programming, rather than relying solely on a traditional retail entertainment centre model, be more widely accessible — as it would operate all day long, and not just at performance time.

What it hasn’t come with is a price, to build or operate, which HPA says is part of the next step.

And that will greatly interest Barrie councillors, who must ultimately decide on the facility’s size, design, operation, funding, etc.

What’s on the city’s books right now, in Barrie’s 10-year capital plan, is forecasted funding for a performing arts centre with a total allocation of $36 million, the majority being projected in the years 2025 to 2028.

It’s worth remembering that council approves the capital budget on an annual basis, and that it’s always subject to change.

Also noteworthy is that the city has $5 million in its theatre reserve fund, $2.5 million from each of the last two years, funding which the former council approved. That amount is to go into the theatre reserve annually.

It’s also expected the PAC or cultural hub would be funded on a one-third basis from the feds, province and city, along with fund-raising.

So let’s do a little math.

Let’s say a new PAC or hub comes with capital costs of $35 million. That’s just to build it.

And let’s say the city, province and feds are all on the hook for $10 million and there needs to be a $5-million fundraising campaign.

With the theatre reserve, the city would have its share by the end of 2025.

And let’s also be clear, council needs to approve this facility and have its funding socked away, or at least committed, before Ottawa and Queen’s Park will take the slightest interest, or the good people of Barrie begin contributing to the fundraising campaign.

It helps greatly that money is already being saved for the capital costs.

The Development Charges Act does not allow a municipality to collect these fees for a performing arts centre, as it does for a recreation or community centre.

True, the PAC or cultural hub’s annual operating costs are another matter. If the facility is approved, council will have to determine if it should be operated by city staff or by a private company or individual with expertise in the entertainment world. This could determine whether the facility makes money, breaks even or costs taxpayers every year.

Let’s face it, Barrie doesn’t have a great track record with performing arts centres or plans for these facilities.

Plans for a PAC in the 1990s — with one 1,200- to 1,500-seat theatre, another with 350 seats — on the downtown H-block property fell apart due, in large part, to indifference from local politicians.

What the city did eventually build downtown is inadequate to the city’s needs, and was also far too expensive.

The Five Points Theatre's construction cost was $6 million, its Dunlop Street West property cost $1.2 million and there was interest of $525,141 on the portion that was debentured, which is how municipalities borrow money. All in, that’s more than $7.7 million.

But that’s in the rear-view mirror.

What matters now is the city’s share of capital costs for a new PAC or community cultural hub appears to be in place.

What needs to happen next is that a design or model, along with a price to build and operate this facility, has to get onto the council agenda — probably in the form of a staff report and recommendation — so that the hard questions can be asked and answered.

When that happens is unknown, but once HPA has completed its work, that report needs to go to city staff and those wheels need to start grinding.

Then Barrie residents in general, and the performing arts community in particular, will know where a new theatre stands on council’s priority list.

Bob Bruton covers city hall for BarrieToday.