Muttart Conservatory to host party before closing for upgrades
Canada Day is your last chance until 2021 to stop and smell the orchids at the Muttart Conservatory before it closes for upgrades and repairs July 2.
“When you type into Google the City of Edmonton, guaranteed you’re going to be seeing the Muttart centre being one of those items that pop up. No different than any of our other infrastructure, we take a lot of pride in it,” said Jesse Banford, director of facility infrastructure delivery for the city.
The city identified the building, which dates back to 1976, as a priority for rehabilitation in 2017.
“The facility has been in operation for over 40 years, so we have a lot of the things in the back-ofhouse that keeps a lot of this collection that people come to enjoy up and running. The boilers, the humidity controls, the electrical system, all those things — it’s a very interconnected, intertwined system, and all the pyramids run off of the one system,” said Banford.
Closing the building to the public allows for the work to be completed more quickly and safely. That work will close the conservatory for an estimated 18 months and includes boiler upgrades and replacements to underground pipes, electrical panels and heating systems that will increase the energy efficiency of the facility, he said.
Phase 1 of the rehabilitation project was approved for $13.3 million in funding in the 20192022 city budget. The project was planned to coincide with construction on the first stage of the Valley Line LRT, which is expected to be operational by 2020.
In the meantime, nine staff members will stay on-site to protect and care for the plants in the botanical gardens, while other staff will be shuffled to various other facilities during construction.
Hours of operation have been extended to 9 p.m. until Thursday, with regular hours Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
And on July 1, the Muttart will host a Canada Day party loaded with indoor and outdoor activities, including seed planting, bannock cooking, crafts and more.