A plan will go before Hamilton politicians next week to get a $22 million transformation of Ancaster Memorial School into a community arts centre back on track.
Ancaster Councillor Lloyd Ferguson hopes to draw $8 million from area rating, and a pair of reserve funds, to bridge a financing gap and move the project forward.
He’s optimistic he’ll receive that support from members of the public works committee on Wednesday, noting that “when it doesn’t impact their tax bills, it makes it a lot easier for them.”
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The plan is to turn the former school into an arts and culture hub, including theatres for the performing arts, visual arts studios and dance studios.
The Ancaster community surpassed its goal, raising $5 million for the project, but that was more than offset by cost overruns related to architectural and archaeological studies.
The project, which originally had a cost estimate of $15 million, also suffered a financing setback when Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives cancelled a $3 million provincial commitment which had been made by Ontario’s former Liberal government.
The Ancaster Memorial Arts and Culture Centre has been in the works since 2014, when the city purchased the surplus property from the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board.
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