Tribeca | 84.5m | 27 fl x 2 | Completed

[ajldub]

Alberta eat your heart out. We live in a democracy last time I checked. I say put the portrait gallery and all its glory back on Wellington, let Claridge have its way with the parking lot, and everyone's a winner.

[lrt's friend]

I will be very, very happy with this. Fix up a heritage building and get rid of a surface parking lot.

[AuxTown]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

I will be very, very happy with this. Fix up a heritage building and get rid of a surface parking lot.

My sentiments exactly. Let's do this for Yousef Karsh!

[wild wild west]

Originally Posted by O-Town Hockey

Those Calgary forumers are going to snap and I can't wait! If this goes through, what's his name from Claridge better have a design ready to go. I want to see something happen on that site soon, hopefully sooner than 150 Elgin .

I doubt it, actually. It's not that big a catch to begin with (all the more baffling that 3 of the country's biggest cities are falling over each other trying to get it), but I for one think "national" galleries and museums belong in the Capital.

[ajldub]

Oh you would be surprised if you knew how passionate some Albertans were about their portrait gallery submissions...

[wild wild west]

Originally Posted by ajldub

Oh you would be surprised if you knew how passionate some Albertans were about their portrait gallery submissions...

Not this Albertan...have at 'er, Ottawa!

[keninhalifax]

This is the kind of high-rise development we need to foster in our downtown. Good on the planners and architects behind this.

[waterloowarrior]

the omb hearing begins in late october

[ajldub]

don't expect any word on the decision by the feds until after an election...

[harls]

So I guess with the election behind us now we can expect a decision soon? There was a story in the Sun yesterday, mentioning that a decision would be sooner than later..

[ajldub]

I would be very surprised if we got a decision on this nailbiter any time soon. I really doubt that Harper would dare throw down $100 000 000 on this little project in the middle of the financial maelstrom we are currently dealing with, and considering we don't really know what lies ahead we may not hear about this for the next year or maybe more. It would be very bold of him to splash all this money at this time on this type of project, especially after all the cultural programs he cut prior to the election. My best guess is the economy is still junk into 2009, Ignatieff wins the Liberal leadership in the spring, and then we have possibly a late 2009 election. If the economy is still bad by then he may be able to oust Harper and I doubt he has any motivation to move the portrait gallery out west. The odds of this happening I would put at 20% but this is the most likely prediction I can come up with in these uncertain times...

[waterloowarrior]

posted by AylmerOptimist

Nov 07, 2008 17:11 ETSelection Process for the Portrait Gallery of Canada Concluded
Collection Will Remain Accessible to CanadiansGATINEAU, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Nov. 7, 2008) - The Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, announced today the termination of the selection process for the Portrait Gallery of Canada.

"A number of developers submitted proposals to house the public programming and exhibitions of the Portrait Gallery of Canada. Unfortunately, none of these proposals met the Government's requirements, and we are therefore terminating the selection process," said Minister Moore. "In this time of global economic instability, it is important that the federal government continue to manage its own affairs prudently and pragmatically. The selection process failed to meet the best interests of both the Portrait Gallery and taxpayers. We have therefore decided not to pursue this project further at this time."

The portrait collection will continue to be available for viewing by Canadians through travelling exhibitions and other public programs. We encourage museums and galleries throughout the country to work with Library and Archives Canada to ensure that the Portrait Gallery collection is proudly and prominently on display across Canada.

This news release is available on the Internet at www.canadianheritage.gc.ca under Media Room



LOL

[Aylmer]

Ohh! I'm being quoted!

[Jamaican-Phoenix]

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

posted by AylmerOptimist

Nov 07, 2008 17:11 ETSelection Process for the Portrait Gallery of Canada Concluded
Collection Will Remain Accessible to CanadiansGATINEAU, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Nov. 7, 2008) - The Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, announced today the termination of the selection process for the Portrait Gallery of Canada.

"A number of developers submitted proposals to house the public programming and exhibitions of the Portrait Gallery of Canada. Unfortunately, none of these proposals met the Government's requirements, and we are therefore terminating the selection process," said Minister Moore. "In this time of global economic instability, it is important that the federal government continue to manage its own affairs prudently and pragmatically. The selection process failed to meet the best interests of both the Portrait Gallery and taxpayers. We have therefore decided not to pursue this project further at this time."

The portrait collection will continue to be available for viewing by Canadians through travelling exhibitions and other public programs. We encourage museums and galleries throughout the country to work with Library and Archives Canada to ensure that the Portrait Gallery collection is proudly and prominently on display across Canada.

This news release is available on the Internet at www.canadianheritage.gc.ca under Media Room



LOL

Yes, because it was so pragmatic of this government to have already spent tens of millions renovating the original Wellington site, then cancelling that idea, and promising to put even MORE millions into that site, so taht it could be converted into the Prime Minsiter's Playhouse for himself and foreign dignitaries.

Jackasses. lol

[kcantor]

from the official press release:

"A number of developers submitted proposals to house the public programming and exhibitions of the Portrait Gallery of Canada. Unfortunately, none of these proposals met the Government's requirements, and we are therefore terminating the selection process,"...

all of the proposals were submitted prior to 2.00 pm in ottawa on may 16, 2008. it might be reasonable to assume that after having accepted $1,000,000 from each of the proponents as a "bid security", that it might not take until november 7, 2008 to determine whether they met the government's requirements or not. although it might be too optimistic to think that might have been possible within a week or two but perhaps within a month or two...

to say i am disappointed would be an understatement. i truly believed that regardless of which submission was successful, this proposal call represented a wonderful opportunity to continue the kind of nation building that started with the recognition of the human rights museum in winnipeg and that deserves to be continued from victoria to st.john and from steinbach to iqaluit.

this process started with 9 canadian cities being “pre-qualified”. of the four submissions that were received, 50% of them came from edmonton and 75% of them came from alberta. this decision takes nothing away from what that says about our city and our province. it will not change what was really behind that and we should all continue to be proud of it and to nurture it and help it to grow wherever it exists and not use this as an excuse to let it go unrecognized or unsupported.

i had the great pleasure of working with a very large group of individuals in completing and submitting our bid and being the recipient of a great deal of support in doing so. that support came from the city of edmonton, the province of alberta, our consultants and construction manager and many of our sub-trades. it came from institutions and schools and arts organizations and a whole host of associations and companies and individuals. i will not try and name them all as it would be a shame to miss a single one but i would like to say a public thank you to each and every one of them.

ken cantor

[c_speed3108]

Tories abruptly scrap national portrait gallery plan

Updated Fri. Nov. 7 2008 7:23 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

After seven years of planning and several million dollars of public investment, the federal government has scrapped a project to build a national portrait gallery, Heritage Minister James Moore said late Friday.

The abrupt abandonment of the plan to build the gallery is the result of unstable economic times, said the minister.

"In this time of global economic instability, it is important that the federal government continue to manage its own affairs prudently and pragmatically," he said in a press release.

Moore, who was appointed to the Heritage Ministry last month, also blamed the cancellation on a dearth of feasible submissions made by developers.

"A number of developers submitted proposals to house the public programming and exhibitions of the Portrait Gallery of Canada," he said.

"Unfortunately, none of these proposals met the government's requirements, and we are therefore terminating the selection process."

The cancellation comes a day after Moore, 32, told The Canadian Press that he hoped to "build bridges" with the arts community in his new posting.

Relations with Canada's arts groups were strained after the Harper government announced $45 million in culture cuts earlier this year.

In 2001, the Liberal government announced it would open the Portrait Gallery of Canada by 2005, however, the project has hit several snags.

Initially, the gallery - which was to feature 20,000 paintings and prints along with millions of photos and other items - was to open in the former American embassy, which sits across from Parliament in Ottawa.

In fact, the government has already spent more than $10 million in repairing that building in preparation for the gallery.

The entire projected cost was initially $22 million, but that number later swelled to $45 million, and the opening was pushed back to 2007.

Meanwhile, the Conservative government reviewed the project after it came into power in 2006.

A year ago, the Conservatives announced that several major Canadian cities should bid for the gallery - a move which was slammed by critics who wanted the gallery in Ottawa.

After last May's deadline for submissions, three cities were in the running: Edmonton, Calgary and Ottawa.

Alberta's government had even promised to pump $40 in provincial cash into a bid.

The government, meanwhile, stated that the portrait collection, which is stored in special facility in Gatineau, Que., "will continue to be available for viewing by Canadians through travelling exhibitions and other public programs."

.

[Mille Sabords]

It'll be back, it will be in Ottawa and it will be on Wellington.

[waterloowarrior]

I guess Claridge must be happy Time to redesign

[eemy]

Alberta's government had even promised to pump $40 in provincial cash into a bid.

That has got to be a typo.

[kcantor]

Originally Posted by jeremy_haak

That has got to be a typo.

most everyone here probably knows that amount from the province of alberta was 40 million, not 40. and at least one of the bids had that amount flow through directly to the portrait gallery to be used at their sole discretion for acquisitions or staff or rent subsidies or travelling exhibits...