City considers doubling Citadel grant

Council to debate policy exemption as struggling theatre battles decaying roof

The Citadel Theatre’s beleaguered roof may receive long-awaited urgent repairs if councillors agree to fund double the eligible grant amount.

The city previously approved $1.37 million in funding for the downtown theatre’s $4.4-million roof rehabilitation, totalling just under the 33 per cent of construction costs permitted under the community partner capital grant program.

But with the Citadel reducing the project scope due to its dire financial situation amid the COVID -19 pandemic, administration will ask council on Monday to approve an exemption to the policy so the grant can fund 66 per cent of the revised cost of $2.08 million.

The project will now focus on the most critical components of the roof that need fixing rather than addressing all of the issues. The $1.37-million grant would still be fully used and the theatre would fund the other 34 per cent, totalling about $710,000.

Citadel executive director Chantell Ghosh said these repairs are urgent because water leaks are damaging many areas of the building. The roof is already eight years past its expected 25-year lifespan.

“The leaks are severe. We have dozens of buckets, tarps and plastic diverters everywhere and are regularly moving furniture and equipment around to avoid damage. Every freeze/thaw cycle makes it worse as the cracks get wider and water infiltrates the building at new places,” Ghosh said in an email to Postmedia Friday afternoon.

“We spend significant sums every year patching the spots over the actual theatres to avoid having buckets on our stages and tarps over our audiences but we have more patch than roof at this point.”

Located at the southeast corner of Churchill Square, the theatre was built in 1974 and is owned and operated by the Citadel, but located on city land. The current lease, expiring in September 2024, requires the Citadel to pay all capital costs.

The theatre is facing financial hardships due to its closure and lack of revenue through the pandemic, resulting in the decision to not go ahead with the full roof replacement at this time. Councillors also approved a $2.6-million loan for the project in early 2019, but the Citadel is forgoing that route to avoid debt.

“We will finish as many sections as we can with the amount of funding that has already been secured/ raised and start with the worst areas first,” Ghosh said in the email. “The less severe areas will need to wait until the next phase, hopefully when things have stabilized. As we work with contractors we will get a better sense of how far we can get in the first phase.”

The hope is to start construction by late summer and get as much work done as possible before winter, Ghosh said.

Downtown Ward 6 Coun. Scott Mckeen said he believes the urgent repairs are worth breaking the policy rules.

“In this case, it seems to make sense to me that, because the Citadel is still contributing to the project and because it’s such a crucial project, that getting caught up in percentages would be folly,” he said. “This is about maintaining the integrity of a building, a lovely building, which I think we sometimes forget is as old as it is and it needs some loving care and attention.”