Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Vancouver City Council

FROM:

Director of Cultural Affairs

SUBJECT:

Vancouver Dance Foundation - Capital Grant Request

RECOMMENDATION

CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

The City has supported the creation of suitable rehearsal and production facilities for the Vancouver dance community since the 1980s as follows:

1989 · funded $5,000 Dance Centre Needs/Feasibility Study
1991 · directed staff to identify City-owned properties or an amenity bonus site;
1993 · approved, subject to a land swap, a site at Nelson & Mainland;
1996 · approved an alternate City-owned site at Pacific & Granville Streets, subject to a series of conditions;

1998 · at the Dance Foundation's request, rescinded the previous site commitment and instead approved a Capital Grant in the amount of $900,000; and
1999 · approved a heritage density bonus for the Dance Centre building at 1996 Granville Street in exchange for the retention of the Granville Street facade as well as a full parking relaxation.

PURPOSE

This report presents for Council's consideration a request from the Dance Foundation for a further $100,000 capital grant.

BACKGROUND

In the mid 1980's Vancouver's dance community organized itself around the need for suitable rehearsal and production facilities. A feasibility study and building programme analysis, undertaken with support from the City of Vancouver, identified the need for a 37,000 sq.ft. shared-use facility. The Dance Foundation was formed as an independent non-profit society with a mandate to "fund, build, endow and hold the long-term lease on the facility".

The Dance Centre is an ambitious project. The program and scale has proved a challenge on many fronts - funding a suitable site, the scale of the building in relation to the site, the magnitude of the capital funding requests to government, the private sector campaign, and the operational sustainability. The Dance Foundation and Dance Centre Boards of Directors have worked hard to address these challenges. The building, which opened in September is a remarkable facility which will make a positive contribution to the cultural infrastructure.

DISCUSSION

All three levels of government as well as the community, through a private sector fundraising campaign, have provided substantial capital support to this project including a Capital Grant in the amount of $900,000 approved by Council in 1998, $3.66 million from the Canada/British Columbia Infrastructure Works Program, a 29-year land lease from Scotiabank valued at $1.325 million and private sector donations of more than $2.7 million.

While tightly budgeted, the project scope and budget increased during construction and a further $600,000 is needed to complete the facility without debt or long-term financing. The Dance Foundation has committed to raise the outstanding capital and is seeking an additional capital grant in the amount of $100,000 from the City (see letter attached to this report as Appendix "A").

Staff have reviewed the request and the proposed fund raising strategy. The Dance Foundation plans to take advantage of the first six months following the facility opening to launch a series of fund raising initiatives including naming opportunities and special events. They have committed to reach their capital campaign completion target of $600,000 by March 31, 2002.

Staff support the fund raising strategy but note that the current economic climate is particularly challenging. Notwithstanding this, staff concur that the next four months provide an important window of opportunity for the Dance Foundation when donors are able to experience an exciting new facility first hand.

In order to provide incentive to potential donors, staff are recommending that should Council approve a further capital grant, the grant be conditional on the Dance Foundation securing matching funds by March 31, 2002. "Challenge" or "matching" grants can be a useful tool in leveraging private sector support.

Finally, staff note that the Dance Foundation Board remains committed to raising the $2 million Operating Endowment. A letter of commitment from the Dance Foundation Chairman is attached to the report as Appendix "B".

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The previous capital grant to the Dance Foundation in the amount of $900,000 was provided for as a special major project through the 1997-1999 Capital Plan. Should Council choose to support an additional $100,000 grant, the source of funds would be the $30,620 which remained unallocated from the 2000 capital grant budget, a further $33,200 unallocated from the 2001 capital grant budget and the balance of the $100,000 grant requested, a further $36,180 in advance of the 2002 capital grants budget (see table below).

CONCLUSION

Notwithstanding the many hurdles along the way, the Dance Centre remains a much-needed and important facility for Vancouver's dance community. Staff believe that it is an attractive and positive addition to the City's cultural infrastructure. Staff recommend an additional $100,000 capital grant to be matched by private sector donations by March 31, 2002. This will assist the Dance Foundation to complete the fund raising necessary to eliminate the capital debt and begin to build the operating endowment for the future.

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