Cultural hub contemplated
Council has earmarked $400,000 for study and design for Sylvia Place centre which could open as soon as 2019
A new cultural hub announced in Mayor Jim Diodati’s state of the city speech Wednesday would be a “shared gathering space” for the community, and create a vastly improved Sylvia Place Farmers Market.
Speaking a day after his address to a sold-out crowd at the Americana Conference Resort & Spa, Diodati said a cultural centre “is one of the pieces missing in the city, and we absolutely want to address this. “It’s not a want, it’s a need.” He said about $400,000 is earmarked in this year’s budget for a feasibility study and architectural design for a hub which could begin construction next year, and open in 2019.
He credits Coun. Wayne Campbell, city council’s representative for the Arts, Culture & Museum Committee, for “beating the drum” on the issue.
If approved by council, the hub would be the first major project stemming from the city’s Cultural Plan. Commissioned in 2013, the plan concluded Niagara Falls needs to spend $200,000 to $300,000 more per year to close the gap when compared to the arts and culture spending of similar-sized communities.
Diodati said many of the city’s artists and cultural groups will be consulted about what’s needed for the hub.
“We want to design something that really, truly addresses their needs,” he said. “We want to get it right. We’re good at building arenas and sports plexes… we want to make sure we get this one right as well. That then will spur on more of this kind of development.”
A new-look farmers market is key to the project, he added. Diodati called the current market, tucked away behind the Niagara Falls History Museum, “very rough looking.” He envisions a venue similar to the farmers market in downtown St. Catharines, which could accommodate many more vendors and double as an event facility.
It could also become the new site of the Niagara Falls Arts & Culture Wall of Fame, which will be homeless when Niagara Square closes on May 1.
It would likely utilize the former Princess Theatre property, which the city owns.
Making the farmer’s market more visible is long overdue, said Diodati.
“Sylvia Market is in a really obscure place. It’s not obvious, and I’ve never seen a market hidden away like that before.”
Diodati estimated the cost for the hub to be between $3 million to $5 million, and stressed “at the end of the day, it’s a council decision.”
Clark Bernat, the city’s manager of art, culture and museums, said it’s up to the community to decide “what a cultural hub is.”
“It can be a lot of different things, and we really need to consult the community in order for the success to be long term. We need to have that dialogue to make sure it’s the right fit for our community.”
Depending on the feedback, the hub could offer rehearsal and performing space, a gallery, or a meeting room.
“Certainly, this summer we’ll be looking at what examples are working across the province in other areas that we feel can work here,” he said. “But we don’t want to pigeonhole in something that works somewhere else but won’t work in this community.”