Lead paint delays QE Theatre reconstruction
Rule change means new seating will now be added after 2010 Olympics
Jeff Lee, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, June 04, 2008
The discovery of lead-based paint in Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Theatre is forcing a delay in completing a $45-million reconstruction until after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Rae Ackerman, the director of Vancouver's civic theatres, said he'd hoped to have new audience seating installed in the 50-year-old theatre before the Olympics, but new rules for handling lead paint have extended the construction period.
"Lead is like the new asbestos," he said. "The requirement to remove it comes with an elevated amount of care and attention."
The plans had originally called for the new seating to be installed in 2009. Instead, it will be done in 2010, after the Olympics. The lead paint issue means other work scheduled to be done in 2008 will take longer, and instead be completed in 2009.
The decision means the theatre's two major clients -- the Vancouver Opera and Ballet British Columbia -- will be able to carry out their planned show schedules, which they had compressed to accommodate a six-month theatre closure in 2008.
The theatre closed in April for construction, with the intention of reopening in November in time for the Vancouver Opera's delivery of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin.
At the time, the plan was to complete renovations started last year to the theatre ceiling, including improving acoustics, as well as to repair and repaint the lobby. New loge boxes and new dress circle seating were to be installed in 2009.
The alterations will improve seating by bringing the audience closer to the stage, but also reduce seats to 2,770 from the existing 2,929.
But Ackerman said the additional safety requirements for handling the lead paint -- which was discovered last year -- means the six months of work planned for this year would take 14 weeks longer. "Extending that any longer would have destroyed the economies of the opera and ballet companies."
The impact of the delay to the seating changes will be minimal, he said. None of the Vancouver Opera or Ballet B.C. shows have been cancelled, and Olympic cultural arts events planned for February and March 2010 will go ahead as planned.
Ackerman said the $45-million reconstruction cost will also likely rise, but not dramatically. "If we are talking $5-10 million more, we are talking about a redesign and not doing it," he said. "We don't have that kind of money."
The delay is understandable but still a disappointment, said Doug Tuck, the opera's director of marketing.
"We've been selling subscriptions to our patrons based on the promised new seating," Tuck said. "While we are disappointed that the house isn't going to be reconfigured until later, we are sure our patrons will still be just as happy ... ."
Tuck said the city discussed the idea of delaying its season, but both sides agreed that would not be suitable. "For us, the choice was seats or season, and we chose the season."
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/...?id=42a50923-7a61-4ad9-8f64-d6118557fdcb
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