City leaders and Fredericton Playhouse representatives broke ground on the city’s new performing arts centre, symbolizing a beginning to its construction.
Tim Yerxa, the Fredericton Playhouse’s executive director, said it took over a decade to get to this milestone.
“This has been a project that has been anticipated, and worked on, for a long time, so it’s very exciting to get to this point,” he said at the ceremony.
In 2019, the centre was projected to cost about $45 million, but current estimates put it at $81.7 million or higher.
“Will things go up, will things change? Yes, that’s true — individual tenders, some will come in high, some will come in low,” Yerxa said after the ceremony.
Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers said the city will provide between $22 million and $24 million for the project.
But community remains a key focus. The ground-breaking included a time of smudging by Wolostoq Grand Chief Ron Tremblay, and a performance of the Wolostoq Song. Jeremy Dutcher was one of the song’s performers.
“Having my first few performing experiences at the Playhouse, it’s really cool to see the evolution and where the city is going in terms of its arts landscape,” Dutcher said.
The centre will replace the current Fredericton Playhouse, which is irreparable. The land will revert to the city, but Rogers said they haven’t yet decided how to repurpose it.
“Because of the land, the value of the land … I think there was a motion made that it be a substantive development,” she said.
But that’s still a couple years away. The next focus is on issuing tenders, with plans to open the centre in late 2026.