Construction of the $30-million Place des Arts cultural centre will begin Oct. 23 in Sudbury. The project received its building permit from the city, the Northern Ontario Business reported.
The 60,000-sq.-ft building will include a bar and restaurant area with a capacity of 100 people ideal for performances by local artists, a smaller “black box” theatre with 150 seats and a larger theatre with 300 seats.
There will also be shops for creating theatre costumes and props, artists’ studios, administrative space and perhaps even a francophone daycare.
Bélanger Construction has been selected to lead the first phase of construction, which is expected to last until 2020. The first phase of the work will be to prepare the ground for construction. This will require excavating contaminated soil and backfilling with reinforced and engineered soils. The second phase will be the actual construction of the building, beginning as soon as possible in early spring and continuing in 2020.
Place des Arts, the Northern Ontario’s first multidisciplinary arts and culture centre, will be home to eight cultural organizations and is expected to host 850 events in its first year.