City of Castlegar selects developer and affordable housing partner for downtown project

Expression of interest was passed at Feb. 7 council meeting

The City of Castlegar has found an affordable housing partner for the proposed apartment and art gallery development in downtown Castlegar.

The project is slated for the site of the old Eremenko building at the corner of Columbia Avenue and 3rd Street. Columbia Basin Trust provided a grant to the City of Castlegar to obtain the property back in April 2021. The project will include affordable housing — which is not to be confused with low-income or subsidized housing — and the Kootenay Gallery of Art.

On Feb. 7, city council approved an expression of interest from Steel River Group (SRG) and Lu’ma Native Housing Society (LNHS).

SRG is an Aboriginal-owned and operated group of companies based out of Calgary with experience in development and construction. Recent projects include housing developments in Grand Forks, Cranbrook and Osoyoos.

Their design team has experience with the design of museum and art gallery spaces in Banff National Park. City staff said this was an important consideration given the unique nature and needs of the project combining the two objectives of housing and art gallery space.

LNHS is a non-profit housing provider based out of Vancouver with experience managing a variety of mixed-use and mixed-tenancy projects in and around the Lower Mainland.

The selection committee consisted of three city staff members and three members of the Kootenay Gallery of Art.

The conceptual design for the project includes two options to be decided on at a later date. One concept would require coordinating funding and construction of the two building components and yield 48 housing units, while the other would allow construction of each component independently and yield 33 housing units.

RELATED: Next steps for art gallery and housing project in downtown Castlegar

With the passing of the expression of interest, the city can now move into more detailed conversations and negotiations with the project partners. The next step will be to develop and pass a memorandum of understanding at which point the city will be removed from a lot of the planning of the project.

“For a large part, the city has accomplished its goal which was to purchase the building and unlock that space for redevelopment and turning it over to the art gallery and a housing provider to move forward,” explained CAO Chris Barlow.

Barlow says the project is still in the very beginning stages with many details still to be worked out. The project will come before council several more times along the way for things such as development permits and zoning amendments (if needed).

“This [stage] is just about bringing in the third party that will best deliver on the project as originally intended by council,” said Barlow.

Article by the Castlegar News, October 12, 2021: https://www.castlegarnews.com/news/next-steps-for-art-gallery-and-housing-project-in-downtown-castlegar/

City of Castlegar Press Release


Background

The Board of Directors for the Kootenay Gallery engaged in a Strategic Planning session in March 2014.   Clear direction was given to Staff to proceed with plans to investigate the relocation of the Gallery.  A relocation sub-committee was established late in 2013, and has been meeting regularly to research location, design, and community need, encompassing a strategic approach to the relocation planning.  

To date, the following work has been completed;

 –     Initial ‘temperature gauge’ survey to Gallery members regarding their thoughts on the idea of relocation.  With an excellent response rate of 28%, members reported overwhelming support for the idea of Gallery relocation.

·          Stakeholder survey to artists, funders and other key individuals to gather feedback on their initial reaction to relocation as well as a high level needs assessment regarding infrastructure, programming and other suggestions regarding a relocated Gallery space.  Again, the response rate to the survey was very high at 44.93% and the reaction to the idea of relocation overwhelmingly positive.  Information gathered regarding the needs of this group has been documented and form the basis of the current vision for a relocated Gallery space.

·          Hosted a public open house to gather input regarding the concept of relocation.


The community’s desired Arts Centre would be:  

  • easily accessible and centrally located
  • embedded in the community and in close proximity to other attractants such as museums, shopping areas or other community facilities
  • located in an area that has both pedestrian and vehicle traffic
  • welcoming, relevant and accessible to people of all ages including children, youth and families
  • bright, spacious and welcoming   
  • both a visual and performing arts space
  • a facility with both indoor and outdoor, spacious, flexible visual arts display spaces 
  • a facility with workshop and meeting spaces, studios for artists and spaces to gather informally such as cafes, gardens and lounges
  • a central hub or home to community arts organizations
  • housed in building(s) or space(s) that are themselves a work of art
  • outfitted with state-of-the-art technical and support services such as catering, bar, audio visual, communications, climate control, and warehousing that would support all events and programming

·          Based on goals and objectives in the 2014-2017 Strategic Plan document, designed a process and framework comprised of a phased approach to the relocation concept, including Feasibility Study, Business Plan, Architectural Plans and Construction Plan.  

  • Following the unsuccessful outcome of actions designed to partner with the Castlegar Chamber of Commerce for a City directed building project in 2017, Outcomes from the Gallery’s 2017 Strategic Plan meetings included agreement to investigate renovating the existing gallery.
  • In the process of this investigation, the City again approached the gallery with regard to a promising property located in downtown Castlegar.
  • In early 2021, the proposed property was purchased by the City of Castlegar, partnering with the Gallery to proceed with plans to relocate the Gallery to the downtown core.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. When are you going to start building?

A. There are a lot of steps before we start building. Ideally, we would love to start by spring 2023 but it may take longer.

Q. Are you going to renovate or demolish the building?

A.  The consultants recommend that demolishing and rebuilding would be more cost-effective and environmentally safer.

Q. What are you going to do with the current site?

A. There are several possibilities and we haven’t settled on one. We want to keep it as an active, vibrant cultural space.

Q. How are you going to pay for it all?

A. We will be writing grant applications to government bodies and foundations. Right now, there is a lot of government support for new infrastructure projects. We will also be fundraising in the community.

Q. How can I help?

A.  You can make a donation, renew your membership or come to a fundraiser. If you want to get more involved, pass your name on to the Gallery. 

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