Ancaster Arts Centre fundraising nears $2 million
The Ancaster Arts Centre fundraising drive is about to crack the $2 million ceiling.
Organizers are now focused on meeting their goal of raising the community’s $3 million share of the cost of the facility by the end of the year.
Colin Lapsley, the art centre’s executive director, said fundraising for the project is over the $1.98 million mark and is expected to pass $2 million soon.
“We’re aiming for $3 million by the end of the year,” he said.
Lapsley said organizers have also applied to a major federal fund and are in the early stages of assessment for the federal government’s share of the $12-million cost of the facility.
Earlier this summer, Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas MP Filomena Tassi encouraged the art centre’s organizers to apply for the federal government’s Canada 150 funding, which has about $168 million available for cultural and heritage infrastructure projects over the next two years.
Tassi said building the Ancaster Arts Centre is a top priority and she is confident federal funding can be acquired.
Funding the Ancaster Arts Centre is a multi-level process that involves the municipal, provincial and federal governments and the community. The city has contributed nearly $3 million for the project and the community target is on track.
Ancaster Coun. Lloyd Ferguson said he has received some “good vibes” from the province as it studies providing its share of the cost.
The preliminary cost to transform the 70year-old former Memorial Elementary School is estimated to be about $6.93 million. Demolishing half the structure is identified at about $5.2 million.
Ferguson said the design of the centre by the Hamilton architectural firm Invizij is nearly completed. It includes a 450-seat theatre, a gallery, multiple small rooms along with a European piazza, and a one-way entrance from Wilson Street.
Meanwhile, the city has hired a consulting firm to conduct a stage-three archeological assessment on the former Memorial School property.
City spokesperson Jasmine Graham said the work, which began a few weeks ago, is being conducted on the property facing Wilson Street and it’s expected the assessment will be finished sometime this fall.
“I’m very glad there are city policies that ensure projects like ours preserve and respect our local heritage,” said Lapsley.
A stage-three assessment is site-specific to review locations that may be of cultural heritage value or interest. It involves further background research and fieldwork beyond what was done under stage-two assessment and includes mapping spatial limits of the site and excavates one-metre-square test holes across the location.
The result of the assessment will determine if there is any further work to be done on the property.