Taken from the S-P at
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/holding+pattern+interpretive+centre/2553508/story.html
The Meewasin Valley Authority (MVA) remains in a holding pattern as the organization continues to mull moving into the Mendel Art Gallery once it is vacated or building anew at its present south downtown location, CEO Susan Lamb said Thursday.
While there's been widespread speculation the organization has been asked to take up occupancy in the Mendel building on Spadina Crescent when it is vacated in 2013, Lamb said it's not that clear cut.
"We haven't made any decisions but we haven't asked, either," Lamb said.
The organization has been sitting on designs for a long-planned interpretive centre for more than a year while searching for funding for a new building.
While early predictions said moving into the Mendel would provide a notable cost saving over building a new interpretive centre at the current location, a preliminary analysis contracted by the MVA board of directors showed that wasn't the case, Lamb said.
Renovating the Mendel for the MVA's purposes would cost $10 million, the preliminary estimate showed, compared to an estimated $11 million to $12 million to build a new 28,000-square-foot interpretive centre at the current spot in the former Rothman's building in Friendship Park, she said.
The costs to operate year-to-year would also be increased substantially, she said.
The Mendel building, constructed in 1964, requires significant renovations to the heating and mechanical systems and space remains an issue, Lamb said.
"We would fit over there, but just barely," Lamb said.
Coun. Darren Hill, an MVA board member and a strong proponent of moving to the Mendel building, said an in-depth study is still needed to determine the cost of renovations.
The city would maintain the title of the Mendel building and lease it to the MVA or another organization, he said. That would likely mean the city would pay for mechanical upgrades, which he said are estimated at between $1.5 million and $2 million.
Moving into the Mendel instead of building new would also remove the costs of finding a temporary home, he said.
"It's an ideal location for the MVA and youth-focused organizations like the children's museum," he said, noting its proximity to Kinsmen Park and ample parking for visitors and school groups compared to the south downtown location.
The MVA has $1.7 million in the bank from the province. A deadline to spend the money by the end of March has been extended, Lamb said.
The MVA was turned down for federal money toward the new centre in a 2006 grant program and didn't put forward an application for a Building Canada grant last year.
A fundraising campaign looking for about $4.5 million will be undertaken once a decision is made on whether to stay in the south downtown or move downstream, Lamb said.
Planned displays include an interactive model of the Meewasin valley and its landmarks, a model of a woolly mammoth discovered in Saskatoon in 1953, an aquarium with live river animals, a mini theatre for screenings and presentations and the chance for visitors to dress up as pioneers and have their photo taken in a Red River cart.
Because of the delay in finding a home, Lamb said around $50,000 has been spent repairing a leaky roof on the MVA's current building.
Since the decision was made to move the Mendel gallery to a new home at River Landing, Lamb has been busy with phone calls from public and private organizations about taking over the MVA building if it is moving, she said.
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- $10 million to renovate or $12 million to build new
- "barely fit" in the Mendel building, or 28,000 sqft new (any idea how big the Mendel is?)
- cost of temporary home while building (who knows how much)
- better parking at Mendel building
- Mendel not available until 2013
Wow... lots of conflicting factors, that seem to make it a wash whether one location or the other is better. The current Mendel building has a big empty space behind it that could potentially be used as an add-on if MVA wanted to expand the building... although who knows where the money will come from.
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too complain about anything.
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