THUNDER BAY — The Thunder Bay Art Gallery has received final approval to build a new, larger waterfront facility south of existing development at Prince Arthur’s Landing.
City council approved a bylaw on Monday designating the new $50 million gallery as a municipal capital facility, a step that was required for a ground lease to take effect.
The move allows the gallery to go ahead with securing a building permit and starting construction in earnest, though crews have already been on site conducting preparatory work and pile installation.
The gallery continues to plan for a 2025 opening of the new facility, which will feature more exhibit space including outdoor displays, a café, and event hall.
Karen Lewis, general manager of development and emergency services, called the vote a significant milestone not just for the gallery, but for the city’s long-term vision of a rehabilitated and vibrant waterfront.
“When Prince Arthur’s Landing opened to the public in 2011, the vision was to develop a waterfront that’s connected year-round and ours to celebrate,” she said. “The idea was to start with a mixed-use and animated waterfront park, and build out from there in concentric circles.”
“The expectation today is that the gallery will be a crown jewel in that continuing transformation, and a spectacular setting for the collection and preservation of Northern Ontario art and work by Indigenous artists.”
Mayor Ken Boshcoff called the vote a “glorious moment,” showing “things are moving along.”
The designation of the gallery as a municipal capital facility under Ontario’s Municipal Act allows the city to exempt the gallery from property taxes and development charges, and offer other assistance like charging nominal rent.
Like many other galleries across the province, the organization is already exempt from local taxes in its current home on the campus of Confederation College.
The new 38,000-square foot gallery will be constructed at 2399 Sleeping Giant Parkway, bridging Prince Arthur’s Landing and the former industrial Pool 6 lands to the south.
The gallery announced in January it had hired Tom Jones Corporation as construction manager for the project, which has faced numerous delays since it was first proposed in 2009.
Art gallery director Sharon Godwin was not available for interview Monday, but said in an emailed statement the gallery will now seek a building permit and work with Tom Jones to determine construction milestones.
She said she was not yet certain when a permit would be approved.
The Pool 6 site, currently home to a cruise ship dock and the Lakehead Transportation Museum, is being assessed by the city for further waterfront development including a proposed Thunder Bay science centre.
Leaders with the city and the Thunder Bay CEDC have also raised possibilities including further parkland and hotel or residential development on the site.
Negotiations over the 50-year ground lease had apparently delayed work on the gallery at least slightly. The organization stated last month it would ideally have started construction in January, but could not do so until the lease was finalized.
City staff had initially said they expected the lease negotiation to be concluded by the end of last summer.
City council reviewed “due diligence information” from the gallery in closed meetings in recent weeks, including a business plan.
The property, including the building, would revert back to the city at the end of the lease if not extended.
City staff have said the gallery will bear sole responsibility for maintenance of the building, and be expected to set aside funds for long-term capital renewal.
The new gallery’s roughly $50 million cost has been covered 70 per cent by the federal government, with the province and city each contributing 11 per cent and the gallery looking to raise the difference itself.
The gallery is also expected to seek an increase to its $270,000 yearly operating grant from the city.
