Peterborough’s Lett Architects Inc. will be designing the new Canadian Canoe Museum at Johnson Park on Ashburnham Drive.
The museum announced on Tuesday (December 22) that the property at 2077 Ashburnham Drive, which is owned by the City of Peterborough, has been deemed viable for the building of the new facility.
“We are thrilled that recently concluded due diligence explorations, environmental assessments, testing and feasibility studies have substantiated the Johnson Park location as a viable site for the building of the new world-class canoe museum,” says Carolyn Hyslop, the museum’s executive director.
Hyslop says the museum will move to the next phase of feasibility and validation activities for the Johnson Park site, which is located on the west side of Ashburnham Drive, north of Beavermead Park and south of Parks Canada’s Trent-Severn Waterway head offices. The site is a short walk to the shores of Little Lake.
“This process will help us fine tune budget and overall costs, design and the project schedule with a view to being shovel-ready by the end of 2021,” Hyslop says.
According to a media release from the museum, the new facility will be built away from the floodplain, on a flat portion of the property on the open land along Ashburnham Drive.
“This will preserve the existing trail, shoreline and natural waterfront,” the museum states.
The museum also announced that Lett Architects Inc. of Peterborough will be designing the new museum.
“Lett Architects are thrilled to be working with the Canadian Canoe Museum on a new home for their comprehensive collection and programming,” says Bill Lett, managing principal with Lett Architects Inc. “As a local studio, we are excited for the opportunity to design this new facility and for the first-hand chance to experience its positive impact on our own community.”
The new museum was originally going to be located beside the Peterborough Lift Lock on property owned by Parks Canada, with a design by Heneghan Peng Architects of Dublin. In October, the museum abandoned both the original location and design after an independent investigation by the museum in May determined the site contains the chemical compound trichloroethylene (TCE), along with a variety of other chemicals.
Hyslop says the museum’s original goals and vision continue to guide the new build project. These include establishing a home for 100 per cent of the museum’s canoe collection that meets Class A conservation standards, directly on the water, which allows for increased on-water and in-person programming.
“In a year that has brought every manner of exceptional challenges to us all, we are delighted to close out 2020 with positive and hopeful news,” Hyslop says. “Having found a viable site for this extraordinary project that will see the new museum situated on the shores of Peterborough’s Little Lake — what a terrific kick off to 2021.”
