Kelowna city council will decide on Monday whether to move forward with planning a proposed $3.1-million ‘creative hub’ on the site of the former RCMP station at 350 Doyle Avenue.
City staff is recommending council vote in favour of proceeding with the second phase of a feasibility study.
The proposed creative hub would provide performance and event space and is aimed at better supporting cross-collaboration between arts and culture groups.
Three arts groups, Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art, New Vintage Theatre and the Okanagan Society for Independent Film Making have been taking part in the feasibility study.
The creative hub would go into a 6,000 square-foot ground-floor unit at the site of the now-demolished police station.
The city has leased the site to a developer for a mixed-use project. The developer is expected to give the ground-floor creative hub space to the city for $1.00.
The city’s vision for the creative hub is that it would be operated at arms-length from city hall possibly by a non-profit cooperative of arts organizations who use the site and that it would be “financially sustainable through earned revenues, public sector funding and community support.”
The first phase of the feasibility study determined a creative hub was feasible, but there are still many details to be worked out.
The second phase of the study, if it goes ahead, would cost $100,000 and not be completed till 2023.
It would look at creating schematic designs and developing cost estimates for the creative hub.
If it is built, the city expects the multi-million dollar creative hub to be paid for through a combination of grants, community fundraising and civic funding.