The Prince George Playhouse is undergoing repairs, and the City is looking to open up applications by late this year.
In Monday’s City Council meeting Adam Davey, Director of Community Services and Public Safety with the city said interior rigging systems and fire curtain replacements, along with exterior cladding repairs are some of the main highlights of the work being done at the Playhouse.
He adds the parking lot for the Playhouse is also smaller due to housing construction in the area.
Councillor Kyle Sampson said he’s happy to see the Playhouse get the minimum repairs needed to get back up and running, and wants to start looking forward to the Downtown Arts Strategy.
“I do want to see this Arts Strategy come back to council before the end of the year. I mean this is a band-aid solution and we need to start planning the next steps on where we’re going to house the arts,” said Sampson.
The city is trying to stay flexible with its application process for new tenants to try and encourage a wide range of applicants.
Councillor Terri McConachie said she foresees more money being needed for the facility and was hoping to find a tenant before the construction began.
“I hope that we can find a tenant. I hope that the investment into the facility will pay itself off with use, with deliverables to our community in return. And as Councillor Sampson has said we already have conflicting information for goals. In fact, the previous tenant to this building doesn’t recommend this for a long term investment,” said McConachie.
City Manager Walter Babicz said that the Arts Strategy might be merged with the new arena proposal, but Councillor Cori Ramsay warned that these are distinct, separate issues that need to be treated as such.
“Arts are an important part of a community, they are a retention tool for young people. We have a really thriving underground arts scene right now that I don’t necessarily think is getting the same subsidization that our arenas get,” said Ramsay.
$411,000 have gone into repairs for the Playhouse, and a previous report to council estimated that a full repair would be a minimum of $4.5 million.
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