Loan deal will speed up Riverbank regeneration

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This article was published 02/05/2017 (3222 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

To accelerate the completion of Phase 1 of the “Back to the River” master plan, the City of Brandon will proceed with the creation of a bylaw and loan agreement of up to $1 million for Brandon Riverbank Inc.

The first phase will see construction of Festival Park, which includes a permanent, covered stage, as well as an amphitheatre with terraced seating for up to 3,000 people.

Lois MacDonald, general manager of Brandon Riverbank Inc., said it will be a “complete regeneration” of the Riverbank Discovery Centre’s event space.

“I think it will really begin the transformation of the riverbank, and it will really begin to establish this space as our celebration greenspace and as our gathering space,” she said.

Brandon Riverbank currently has approximately half of the funds necessary to complete the $1.8-million project. The loan from the city will allow the project to proceed in its entirety, to be completed this construction season and into 2018.

“It would be tendered as one project, which is really where the cost-savings come in, even if it has to happen over two seasons,” MacDonald said. The loan would be interest-free and paid back within six years.

The space to be redeveloped is from the dike down to the playground, north of the Discovery Centre.

In addition to Festival Park, the first phase will also include two newly designed picnic shelters, as well as establishment of native prairie grasses. MacDonald said this will not only add to the esthetics of the area, but will create lower-maintenance greenspace for the future.

The plans for the project have been designed with flooding in mind, and are above the flood-of-record elevation in an effort to keep it safe from high water in the future.

When talking about the vision for Festival Park, MacDonald said “the sky’s the limit.”

“It can host so many different events from cultural performances to theatre in the park, to different musical groups,” she said, in addition to fundraising events and charity walks. “It can be everything from 20 or 25 people enjoying a musical performance all the way up to thousands coming out to something like a Doc Walker concert.”

Construction drawings are complete, and MacDonald said the plan is to move into the tender process once official, to get a jump on the 2017 construction season. A fundraising campaign will be kicking off as well.

“We want to make sure that people understand that this is a loan, it’s not a gift,” MacDonald said.

“We’re looking for some significant donors, but there also is a lot of opportunity for people to participate and contribute personally as well.”

With this year being Canada’s 150th, and the City of Brandon’s 135th anniversary, MacDonald is hopeful there will be interest from local families and individuals in this legacy project.

“People can stay tuned, and there certainly will be lots of giving options and they’ll be shared with the public in the coming weeks,” she said.

Mayor Rick Chrest said he is optimistic the group will do well in its fundraising efforts, and supports the plan to accelerate the work. He said this plan is, “more efficient, less costly” and will give the public an opportunity to begin to use the “excellent venue” in the near future.

Brandon City Council approved the Riverbank master plan in June 2016, after a year-long effort of HTFC and InterGroup Consultants, who conducted extensive public outreach. As its name suggests, the master plan will work with the river, not against it. The plan is a 20-year vision, with an estimated price tag of nearly $30 million.

The decision was made to decommission Eleanor Kidd Gardens because it was simply too difficult and costly to maintain during times of flood. But as much material as possible was salvaged, and will be used to eventually create an enhanced garden area on the south side of the Discovery Centre building. The vision for this area is to be a beautiful horticultural space to host small weddings and other events.

“There is some pretty significant riverbank stabilization that has to happen right beside the Discovery Centre so we really can’t move on that initiative until that riverbank stabilization work is done,” she said, adding the goal is to see that work done this year.

Also in the plan is to “breathe new life” in to the interpretive ponds south of the Discovery Centre, which were significantly damaged in the 2011 and 2014 floods.

Another piece of the master plan is the Peter Sawatzky Sculpture Park near the corner of 18th Street and Kirkcaldy Drive. This will be a longer-term project, but background work is already underway.

“As far as which (project) happens next, it’s going to depend on funding that’s available and it will also depend on which project is really ready to go, once Festival Park is completed,” MacDonald said.

» jaustin@brandonsun.com

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