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10. COMMUNITY
CONCERT HALL - PROVINCIAL GRANT Dispersal
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That
Council advance to the Ottawa
Chamber Music Society (OCMS) $500,000 from the $6.5 million Provincial Grant
for the Community Concert Hall.
Que le Conseil municipal avance 500 000 $ de la subvention provinciale de 6,5 millions de dollars pour la salle de concert communautaire à la Société de musique de chambre d’Ottawa (SMCO).
DOCUMENTATION
1. Community
and Protective Services, Deputy City Manager’s report dated
08 May 2006 (ACS2006-CPS-CSF-0008).
2. Extract of Draft Minute, 16 May 2006
will be issued separately prior to the Council meeting of 24 May 2006.
Report
to/Rapport au :
Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee
Comité des services organisationnels
et du développement économique
and Council / et au Conseil
Submitted by/Soumis par :
Steve Kanellakos, Deputy City Manager/Directeur
municipal adjoint,
Community and Protective Services/Services communautaires et de
protection
Contact
Person/Personne ressource : Colleen Hendrick, Director
Cultural Services and Community
Funding/Services culturels et financement communautaire
(613) 580-2424 x 24366,
Colleen.Hendrick@ottawa.ca
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SUBJECT: |
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OBJET : |
SALLE DE CONCERT COMMUNAUTAIRE – DISTRIBUTION DE LA SUBVENTION PROVINCIALE |
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the Corporate Services and
Economic Development Committee recommend that Council advance to the Ottawa Chamber Music Society
(OCMS) $500,000 from the $6.5 million Provincial Grant for the Community
Concert Hall.
RECOMMANDATION DU
RAPPORT
Que le Comité des
services organisationnels et du développement économique recommande au Conseil
municipal d’avancer 500 000 $ de la subvention provinciale de 6,5 millions de
dollars pour la salle de concert communautaire à la Société de musique de
chambre d’Ottawa (SMCO).
BACKGROUND
In April 2003, City Council adopted the Ottawa 2020 Arts Plan which identified and rationalized the need for a mid-sized concert hall in Ottawa, which had been on the agenda for over two decades. In October 2004, the City of Ottawa demonstrated its support to the Ottawa Chamber Music Society to build a 925-seat Community Concert Hall, with a small rehearsal hall proposed in the adjacent First Baptist Church at the corner of Laurier and Elgin Street. The project provides a solution to almost all of the current identified facility needs for music in the City of Ottawa. Over 30 music organizations and several festivals are also participating with OCMS in the project, which will bring thousands of music patrons into the downtown core on a regular basis. In October 2004 City Council approved a grant of $5.47 million, offset permit fees, and exempted the community concert hall from development charges for a total municipal contribution of $6.1 million. The total construction project cost is $24,045,765 (in 2006 dollars) of which $15,617,810 in revenues have been confirmed to date, including City ($6.1 million), Province ($6.5 million), private support from the fundraising campaign ($1.5 million) and Morguard's contribution ($1.5 million). That leaves projected revenues of $6.5 million from the federal government and $1.9 million more from fundraising/naming sponsor to reach the construction budget target. Additional fund-raising is also planned to establish an operating endowment.
The total area of the Community Concert hall, including lobby, backstage and offices is 36,651 square feet. It will be owned and managed by the OCMS who is raising all the necessary funds, and partnering with Morguard Investments Inc. who were chosen to develop the former City lands. The City sold the land to Morguard with the expressed provisions to have the community concert hall and other public benefits built on the site. The community concert hall constitutes the primary public benefit component for the combined residential/office/retail project and represents a unique and innovative feature of the development of these former City lands which have been a parking lot for the last 20 years.
In
2005, the Ottawa Chamber Music Society approached the Province and submitted
its Business Plan for the Community Concert Hall to the Minister of Culture.
The OCMS has also applied to the federal Cultural Spaces Canada program. The
OCMS led a lengthy lobbying process by local residents and members of Ottawa's
arts, business and political communities to secure the Provincial funds.
On March 23, 2006, the Province of Ontario announced the funding of three capital projects in the City of Ottawa. It is the first time in decades that Ottawa has been the beneficiary of $11.5 million in Provincial funding for arts infrastructure. The Province committed $2.5 million for the East End Arts Facility, a municipal P3 project; $6.5 million for the Community Concert Hall, a project led by the Ottawa Chamber Music Society; and gave $2.5 million to the Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre, future new home of the Great Canadian Theatre Company. The Provinicial funds for the Community Concert Hall and the Orleans Arts Centre are held by the City of Ottawa in internal trust accounts.
DISCUSSION
The Ottawa Chamber Music Society has requested that the City advance a portion of the Provincial funds for the Community Concert Hall in order to implement the next critical steps towards the realization of the Community Concert Hall project. The OCMS has carried the cost of developing the project to this point with key partner Morguard Investment Limited, who have provided direct financial support as well as some architectural and planning services.
However, with construction on the Elgin Street site scheduled to begin in September, there are building related costs that must be incurred by the Ottawa Chamber Music Society. In addition, refinement of the business plan and securing of private sector sponsors and donors must be completed.
An immediate advance of $500,000 to the OCMS would be used to offset costs relating to the prime consultant fees and honoraria required for the construction project. Engaging the architects, theatre consultants, engineers, and acousticians now is critical in order to finalize the building program of functions/spaces within the facility. Project Management services are also needed to lead the building project on behalf of the OCMS Board and to work with the developer to ensure appropriate development of this specialized facility.
A commitment of this kind would ensure that OCMS can finance the work necessary through to September 2006, by which time it is anticipated that the support from Cultural Spaces Canada will have been announced and considerable progress made on the fundraising target.
As advised by Corporate Legal Services, the City proposes to execute a standard contribution agreement with the OCMS respecting the disbursement of the funds.
CONSULTATION
The City's Legal Services and Financial Services were consulted during the development of this report.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The Provincial Grant has been deposited in an internal trust fund for the Community Concert Hall where it will attract interest based on the average balance at approximately 3% paid quarterly. Based on interest calculated at 3% per annum and compounded quarterly the interest to year end would be approximately $136,000 or slightly better than $45,000 per quarter.
DISPOSITION
Subject to approval of this report, the Deputy City Manager, Community and Protective Services will release $500,000 to the Ottawa Chamber Music Society (OCMS).