A waterfront arts precinct stretching along Argyle Avenue with a new exhibition space and education centre on the Ferry Building site is the hope of West Vancouver arts groups.
According to the plan, drawn up by the Arts in Ambleside Advisory Commission, a new multi-purpose art and museum exhibition space and administration building would be built on the site of the Ferry Building Gallery, while that gallery could be moved, possibly onto the pier itself.
The report also calls for a neighbouring "arts square" at the foot of the pier and an educational building and café on the other side, as well as additions to the Silk Purse Gallery that would include a permanent outdoor stage for John Lawson Park - a full "arts precinct."
The commission presented an interim report with conceptualized site designs to council Monday. The group is now looking for resident feedback on the proposed locations.
"We really did an exhaustive exploration of sites within that whole
waterfront precinct, and not just on the waterfront, we looked at a lot of other sites," said Jennifer Marshall, a consultant with Urban Arts Architecture. "It's the one place where there's enough space and it's a space that's already been claimed by culture."
The locations the commission turned down included the 1300-block of Marine Drive slated for redevelopment as part of the AmblesideNow, project the tennis courts at 13th Street and Marine Drive, a spot at Argyle Avenue and 15th Street, Argyle and 13th Street and a location next to the Silk Purse.
The Ferry Building site was the only one that stood out as meeting the criteria of having space to expand, remaining connected to the commercial core while also being a dramatic, waterfront site, said Marshall.
The café was included to provide revenue and also to bring people in, she said.
Marshall asked council to consider making the land available at no cost for construction and to consider expanding the grants provided for operations. She said the commission hoped to raise the entire construction cost through private donations, grants and community amenity contributions, but didn't exactly rule out asking for municipal funds.
"Who knows what the future holds, but that's not what the plan is," she said.
The challenge, she said, will be recovering operating funds.
Marshall suggested the site could be booked for weddings and other events, and that revenue would increase from events, partnerships, donations and an expanded endowment fund. Construction won't begin until the operating budget is in order, she added.
The commission plans to return to council with a final report in the fall, which will include more details about projected costs and facility size, said Marshall. It's budget for researching and generating both reports is $80,000.
The advisory commission has representatives from the West Vancouver Museum and arts organizations, such as the Silk Purse, Ferry Building Gallery, and others involved in arts delivery in British Columbia.
Commission chairwoman, Merla Beckerman, said the plan is ambitious, but is designed to carry West Vancouver through the next 25 years, although the components could be staged for completion into multiple phases. Beckerman noted that West Vancouver's arts groups have been talking about a new combined arts facility since the 1970s. She said this time the momentum is here to put shovels in the ground.
She said the plan is to move forward at the same time as AmblesideNow.
"Our timing is very good for this, and certainly (it's) a needed facility," she said.
The commission also sought approval from staff to amalgamate all the boards of West Vancouver's arts organizations and museums, which Beckerman said would allow them to share staff, share space and save money.
A 2009 report suggested exhibition space of 6,000 square feet would be a small component of a 28,000-square-foot building would also house collection storage and administration offices for all West Vancouver's arts organizations
The interim report is available to the public as part of the online council agenda package for July 18, but no website has been created yet for the plan.
There will be a booth set up at the Harmony Arts Festival to solicit feedback.
