The board of the Art Gallery of Peterborough (AGP) has been “exploring the potential” of relocating the gallery to a proposed 17-storey mixed-use building to be developed by Ashburnham Realty on Crescent Street behind the existing gallery building.
That’s according to a report from the gallery that will be presented by the city’s cultural services manager Stoyan Barakov to the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee (ACAC) on Tuesday (September 23) — the same day a public open house about the proposed Crescent Street development will be held at the AGP at 250 Crescent Street.
According to a notice for the open house from EcoVue Consulting, the planning consultant for Ashburnham Realty, the 17-storey mixed-use building would include 231 rental apartment units and commercial space on a portion of the ground floor, with a portion of the second and third floor as “the potential new location of the Art Gallery of Peterborough.”
The AGP’s report to ACAC states that Paul Bennett of Ashburnham Realty invited the AGP to consider relocating within the proposed Crescent Street development, which would consolidate nine existing properties located along Crescent Street, Lake Street, and George Street.
“The AGP has engaged the services of Unity Design Studio to develop (a) rendering based on the needs assessment included in the Feasibility Study Update, 2020,” the report states. “We are working the consulting firm V Formation to develop a Business Case and undertake a Fundraising Feasibility Study.”
The AGP adds that a report and business case document will be submitted to city council meeting as general committee on Monday, October 6.
A 2011 study on the AGP conducted in response to issues of limited space, technical deficiencies, and risks to the art collection at the existing Del Crary Park location recommended either a major renovation of the existing facility or relocation to a new site that could meet the professional and technical standards required for a Class A designation.
This led to a 2014 feasibility study by Lundholm + Lett, which explored two potential new sites in downtown Peterborough along with the existing site and concluded that renovating and expanding the existing facility would be more cost-effective and had several advantages.
According to the City of Peterborough’s 2020 budget document, an update to the feasibility study was planned for presentation to council in 2020, alongside a review of AGP bylaws and its memorandum of understanding with the city. kawarthaNOW is unable to locate any public information about the 2020 update.
As for the public open house, it will be held in a drop-in format at the AGP from 7 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, September 23. The open house notice states there will be no formal presentation, but members of the developer’s consulting team will be available to answer questions.
