Cost of library/art gallery project in Sudbury rises to $98.5M
A report headed to city council in Greater Sudbury this week says the estimated cost to build Junction East -- a new art gallery and library downtown -- now sits at $98.5 million.
And the report includes a resolution to suspend plans for Junction West, which would have seen a new convention centre also built downtown.
The Junction project, along with the Kingsway Entertainment District (KED) and the Place des Arts, are all part of the so-called transformative 'big projects' councillors approved in the last several years.
Place des Arts opened this spring, while the KED is moving forward slowly after years of legal challenges.
The original estimate for Junction East was $42 million in 2017, calling for a 92,000-square-foot building to house the library and art gallery, the report said.
Since then, the plan has evolved to become more of a "cultural campus," the report said. Groups such as the multicultural centre and the Sudbury Theatre Centre will be tenants in the building, expanding the scope of the project.
And rather than building a new parking structure, the report recommends the city spend $4.1 million to buy two lots across from the Shaughnessy Street site to help make up for spots lost to the new building.
"The two empty lots on the west side of Shaughnessy which directly face the main entrance of the new building will be redeveloped into a dedicated parking lot for Junction East," the report said.
"There is opportunity to realize parking as well as a strong pedestrian connection from the Minto Street parking lot to the new Junction East facility."
Construction costs are estimated at $80.7 million, with land acquisition for parking, enhanced sustainability measures and other related costs bringing the total to $98.5 million.
The biggest source of funding -- $68 million – would be debt financing, the report said. The city hopes it can reduce that amount, since it can get up to $37.2 million from upper levels of government and $3.1 million from cultural hub partners.
Read the full report here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.