City seeks funding for Library/Arts Building
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/11/2024 (718 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The City of Brandon will make a funding application to the Green Municipal Fund “GHG Impact Retrofit Capital Project Stream” to borrow up to $10 million for the city’s Library/Arts Building renovation.
Last June, Brandon City Council voted to proceed with preparation work for the renovation of the Library/Arts Building on Rosser Avenue into a new cultural hub. The motion that passed at the time recommended the city proceed with the enhanced sustainability option city staff previously said would include energy efficiency improvements that could help the city access funding through green grant programs.
But before any of the work can start, the motion also called for grant funding worth at least 50 per cent of the total project cost. Documents provided at Monday night’s council meeting on Nov. 18 showed an estimated total renovation cost of $21,089,730, with the construction sub-total pegged at $19,904,730 of that.
“This grant will not fund the project in isolation,” Ryan Nickel, the city’s director of planning and buildings, told city council on Monday night. “It’s an over $21-million project. We’ve applied to the federal GICB grant (Green and Inclusive Community Buildings Program) … for $15 million. That’s already done and in the queue. The way that we’re going to write this up is that this grant will be supplementary to that grant. So if we get this other grant, then we’re going to hopefully get this other grant.”
Nickel said the amount of money the city receives from the Green Municipal Fund grant could potentially be 25 per cent of that $10 million — or $2.5 million — which is why he noted that it would have to be considered an “additional” grant for the project.
After speaking with the fund managers, Nickel said the city was granted a small extension to the application deadline, leaving the administration until Nov. 29 to apply.
On top of providing the Western Manitoba Regional Library and Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba with renewed spaces, the renovation of the Library/Arts Building will also bring the Brandon General Museum and Archives under the same roof from its current location at 19 Ninth St.
A motion Monday evening to move forward with the funding application was carried unanimously by city councillors.
According to the Oct. 8 Building Re-design Report prepared by f-BLOK Architecture, the project is anticipated to be completed in mid-2028, with the start of construction expected sometime in 2026.
» mgoerzen@brandonsun.com