A council committee responsible for making headway on the city’s Build Kamloops program is considering a staff proposal to allocate $7 million to finish detailed design work for a performing arts centre — the estimated price of which has now ballooned to $120 million.
The Build Kamloops select committee will be discussing the matter during its meeting on Monday.
In a report prepared for the meeting, city staff said if approved, this will mark the first financial investment made by the City of Kamloops towards the large capital project, which has been identified as a priority in the city’s Recreation Master Plan.
“The Kamloops Centre for the Arts will fill an important gap in the community that has been identified in strategic plans for almost two decades,” The report said.
“This purpose-built facility will address the current and growing needs of the community, hosting events ranging from graduations to awards ceremonies to performing arts events.”
Staff noted much of the preliminary work for the proposed Kamloops Centre for the Arts has already been completed in years past thanks to local business owners and philanthropists Ron and Rae Fawcett.
“The work completed to date clearly defines what the city needs to advance this project, which will allow staff to be efficient with the design process while moving quickly,” the report said.
“The detailed design will fill in framework established by concept design and allow the city to map out the rest of the project with greater confidence.”
A performing arts centre has been discussed in the community for years. The Fawcetts said they would donate $10 million to help build the Kamloops Centre for the Arts when planning was underway about four years ago. A referendum on borrowing money to fund the project was scheduled to take place in the spring of 2020, and was ultimately shelved due to the pandemic.
At that time, the performing arts centre was estimated to cost $70 million. Using 2023 dollar estimates, the Build Kamloops committee report said the construction could cost about $120 million.
The cost for completing the validation and detailed design phase is estimated to cost a total of $7 million. Staff have proposed using short-term debt to obtain the funds.
In the report, staff said advancing the detailed design will show commitment from the city, allowing grants to be pursued.
“Granters are often looking for ‘shovel-ready’ projects,” the report said.
If this proposal is approved by council, the capital projects division will begin the procurement process to find qualified designers and builders. Procurement is anticipated to take between six and 10 months, and once a team is retained, validation should take between three and six months followed by eight to 12 months of detailed design work.
“The project will be ready to break ground in the spring of 2026. Construction of this project is expected to take two years,” the report said.
The Build Kamloops committee will discuss the project Monday, and if committee members vote to approve the proposal, it will be sent to council for a final decision.
