Art gallery launches fundraising campaign amid mounting costs
Costs for a new waterfront location for the Thunder Bay Art Gallery are now pegged at around $57 million, up from a previous $50-million estimate.
The Thunder Bay Art Gallery has launched a second, multi-million dollar fundraising campaign as it confronts cost increases for its new waterfront build.
The project, which began construction over the summer, was previously pegged at roughly $50 million, a figure that had itself climbed significantly from earlier estimates.
Matthew Hills, the gallery’s new executive director, said in an interview Thursday that recent cost estimates put the project around $57 million, while cautioning that figure was still “evolving.”
Art gallery leaders have warned for months that costs were on the rise, but Thursday marked the first time they had shared a specific estimate.
At a fundraising launch held at the gallery’s current location on Confederation College’s campus, Hills said some design changes have already been made in an attempt to trim costs, but additional funds will also be necessary.
“There have been significant modifications in terms of designs, areas where we can capitalize on cost savings and look to be more efficient in terms of the design and the ways that we’re working and building.”
Sharon Godwin, who recently departed as executive director and has stayed on as project lead for the new build, told attendees the rising costs are not unusual for pandemic-era projects.
“It won’t be a surprise, I think, to any of you that building projects currently occurring in the country are experiencing increased construction material and labour costs, as well as supply chain issues, due to the impact of the pandemic and inflation,” she said. “Thunder Bay’s waterfront art gallery project is no exception, and we have more challenges ahead.”
At Thursday’s launch, the organization announced it is seeking to raise $5 million from the community over the next 12 to 16 months.
The gallery previously raised around $2.7 million in a first phase of fundraising, and has attracted $47.5 million in government support, with 70 per cent from the feds and the remainder roughly split between the province and municipality.
Asked if the gallery could still proceed with the build if it does not achieve its ambitious fundraising target, Hills called that an unlikely “worst-case scenario,” without completely ruling it out.
“I have confidence we’ll reach those goals,” he said.
Shelley Crawford, a gallery board member who is heading the fundraising campaign, acknowledged the target as ambitious, but expressed confidence.
“I think it’s going to be hard,” she said. “On the other hand, we already know that $2.7 million has come to us from those same groups. It strikes me that once you start to see the building go up – It was growing every day, and that is going to mean people see their investment come to life.”
The gallery will be appealing for one-time or monthly donations, as well as in-kind support, which could include providing materials, fixtures, furnishings, or landscaping to assist with the build.
“We will look to the community, the corporations, the foundations, the individuals,” said Crawford. “We’re hoping they will see a way to honour their family or invest some of their stocks or give a naming opportunity of something in that building that will leave a legacy.”
Representatives from Patkau Architects and Brook McIlroy shared some new images of the gallery while offering a “digital walkthrough” at Thursday’s event.
The new building will offer more than double the current gallery space — 39,000 square feet on two floors, versus 16,000 now — and add new features like a café and event space.
It will also feature expanded classroom spaces that could host an artist in residence, as well as programming like art classes.
It will offer numerous views onto Lake Superior and the Sleeping Giant, as well as higher ceilings and a design leaders say will make it an “architectural gem” on the city’s waterfront.
Hills said the gallery is still on track to open the new location in late 2025, calling that target reasonable and “relatively firm.”
The gallery secured final city council approval to build the facility in April.
Construction is expected to take 24 to 26 months on the project, which was first proposed in 2009 and faced numerous delays, including from COVID-19.
Hills believes the new location will be transformational for the gallery, making it a place people can discover while spending time downtown, rather than having to seek it out.
“I think one of the things you cannot discount is what curators will call a stumble-upon factor, the ways in which you have these casual encounters with art,” he said.
“People are going to stumble upon the art gallery and our art collection in all these different ways. I also think that centralized location allows for a different degree of accessibility and outreach in relation to community. We have incredible education and public programs already in place, but this shift in our scale and operations allows for far more of that work.”
The gallery also announced Thursday a significant donation from Brent Scollie would allow it to commission a piece by artist Christi Belcourt for the new gallery.
Scollie said the piece, expected to measure around 7’ by 4’, “will make a statement.” – tbnewswatch.com
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From the comments for the above article…..
Exactly. The project estimate started at $25 million. Its now closing in on $60 million. An increase of 230% and its not finished yet. There is still time for that number to rise.
Obviously, when you have an endless supply of free money”, then cost is no object. Need more money? The governments of Canada and Ontario have many programs that will gladly hand out as much cash as you need.
Let me explain how this works. Lets say you want to build an art gallery. You know that the price tag for the gallery you want to build is very high. So what do you do? You low-ball the original estimate. You get the governments to bite. They commit some funding. Great. Then the actual price estimates slowly climb. You need more money.
Those governments have already heavily committed financially to the project. They have little choice but pump in more taxpayer dollars. Government funded projects always get completed NO MATTER THE COST OVERRUNS! A prime example of this technique is the new hospital.
The Ontario government wanted to upgrade Port Arthur General at a cost of less than $100 million. Not build a new hospital.
The City of Thunder Bay said that a new hospital would only cost another $25 million. One plebiscite later, the City of Thunder would pay the extra $25 million in order to get a brand new hospital. After the project was finally completed, the final cost was double the original estimate. And yes, the Ontario Government paid even though the project’s cost ballooned by 100%. An extra $125 million? No problem. Taxpayers are endless source of cash.
A person who worked for a local construction firm once told me that government contracts are gold. No matter the cost overruns, the government always completes the project. The contractor always gets paid. ALWAYS.
Marina Park. Phase 1 went from $40 million to well over $60 million. All of the Phase 2 budget was spent on Phase 1.
As far as Art Gallery fund raising to make up that additional $7.5 million, don’t expect persian sales. That money will come from the pockets of the usual suspects. Senior levels of government, the City of Thunder Bay, TbayTel…in other words, from the pockets of the taxpayers.
I do not believe there is enough public support to raise that kind of money for a project very few people want. How do I know that? Local fundraising could only raise $2.7 million of a $50 million project. Only 5 %. of the cost. Pitiful. And most of that came from groups and foundations. No carwashes or persian sales. Nothing like that.
Presently, the City of Thunder Bay gives the Art Gallery an annual operating grant in the $250,000 range. I looked but I could not find the exact number. What I do know, is that number will be going up a lot. Double? Triple? More? I fully expect it will double for sure….to start. Expect that to increase every year.
I also expect that the City of Thunder Bay will be responsible for snow removal and landscape work/maintenance as well.
The publicly funded Thunder Bay Art Gallery plans to directly compete with the private sector. Café and event space. Nice. Private sector funding, through their taxes, competition. Competition that does not have to pay property taxes or turn a profit. great!
I predict that the cafe, if there even is one, will be seasonal at best. It will never make any money. Every dollar it makes is money taken away from the private sector businesses. You know, the people whose taxes are paying for this to be built and paying for its annual operating costs.
Discover? From downtown? Seriously? This location is not handy to the downtown core. I doubt if few people will be. The former Eaton’s building would have been a better choice for a location. Right in the heart of the downtown core surrounded by small businesses include several cafes. . Easily accessible to public transit and a parade.
I have never heard anything about the lack of access to public transit when discussing the art gallery’s waterfront location. Its not close to any bus stop. The nearest bus stop is in front of the fire hall at the corner of Cumberland and Pearl Street. Not a short walk especially for a family in the winter. Seems that is not all that important to the Art Gallery as their main supporters do not use publics transportation. Its for poor people. The great unwashed.