SUPPORTS ITEM NO. 4
CS&B COMMITTEE AGENDA
NOVEMBER 7, 1996
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: October 22, 1996
Dept. File: VMC10.22
TO: Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets
FROM: Director of the Office of Cultural Affairs,
Director of Finance and the Manager of
Facilities Development
SUBJECT: Vancouver Museum Revitalization Program
RECOMMENDATION
THAT Council approve an allocation of $490,000 to fund the first
phase of Vancouver Museum Revitalization Program, the move of the
museum gallery from 'C Wing to 'B Wing, in advance of approval
of the 1997 Capital Budget; interim financing from Revenue
Surplus.
GENERAL MANAGERS COMMENTS
The General Managers of Community Services and Corporate Services
RECOMMEND approval of the foregoing.
COUNCIL POLICY
On September 24, 1996, Council approved in principle the 1997-1999
Capital Plan, including an allocation of $3.0 million to the Vancouver
Museum Revitalization Program.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to seek Council s approval to fund the
first project in Phase 1 of the Vancouver Museum Revitalization
Program, in advance of approval of the 1997 - 1999 Capital Plan, in
order to dovetail the construction schedule of the Vancouver Museum
with that of the Pacific Space Centre (PSC) currently underway, and to
meet the Museum s exhibition commitment on February 15, 1997.
BACKGROUND
Since February of 1996, Council has approved a series of actions to
begin a process of revitalization at the Vancouver Museum, including
approval in principle of $3.0 million in the 1997 - 1999 Capital Plan.
The Museum s revitalization project will make improvements to the
City-owned building in Vanier Park, necessary to upgrade the Museum
facility to contemporary building codes and museum standards, to
improve the lay-out and accessibility of the museum, and to provide
current and relevant exhibits necessary to attract new and repeat
visitors.
The Pacific Space Centre, the co-tenant in the building, has also been
planning a major capital expansion project which includes the
refurbishment of the Star Theatre, 670 m2 of new space sciences
exhibition area, the "Hot Seat Experience", a simulated space ride,
and an interactive high-tech theatre. They will have completed Phase
1 of their project by late November and are planning to proceed with
Phase 2 as soon as possible.
DISCUSSION
Both projects require that the building co-tenants work
co-operatively. Staff are pleased to report that since the
appointment of the Vancouver Museum Commission (VMC), much work has
been accomplished in this area. The VMC and PSC have entered into
agreements, subject to the approval of the City as Landlord, which
cover the allocation of space within the building, the sharing of
capital costs relating to space allocations, and construction
protocols, scheduling and activities.
One of the results of these discussions is an agreement to relocate
part of the PSC into what is currently museum gallery space. This
move has a number of long-term benefits to both institutions - it
locates the PSC ride, which will generate significant vibrations, on
grade and not over the Museum artifact collection areas; and it
improves the Museum s layout and access to loading.
Scheduling the move is complex. The timing of the move needs to
accommodate the PSC s timetable to access Infrastructure funds and the
Museum s outstanding exhibition commitments.
The Museum s C-wing gallery area will need to be closed to the public
for a period of three months to undertake the move. Working together,
the PSC and VMC have determined that the best time to make the move is
November 15, 1996, through February 15, 1997. The Museum has a firm
commitment to a touring exhibition which must open on February 15,
1997.
If the November - February period is not possible, then the Museum
must mount the touring show in the current gallery space and delay the
move until the exhibition closes in June 1997. Undertaking the move
during the June - August period would close the galleries during the
key summer months for attendance and revenue-generation.
The next opportunity would be in October 1997. The PSC have indicated
that they believe a delay until fall of 1997 would jeopardize their
Infrastructure funding.
The VMC and PSC have approached the City with a request which will
enable them to proceed in the December 1996 - February 1997 time slot.
Staff are therefore submitting a request to Council from the VMC for
$490,000 to fund the first project in Phase 1 of the revitalization
program, the move of the museum gallery from the 'C Wing to the 'B
Wing.
The total VMC capital revitalization budget is $15 million, of which
$3 million was allocated, in principle, in the City s 1997 - 1999
Capital Plan. The VMC project has been broken into two phases. Phase
1 (project budget of $4.3 million) will include reconfiguring and
refurbishing the galleries, infilling the B-wing courtyard and some
exhibition infrastructure. In addition to the funds approved in
principle through the 1997 - 1999 Capital Plan, the VMC has received a
donation of $1.2 million and are committed to raising the balance from
the private sector.
The VMC s budget to complete the move, contained within the $4.3 m
above, is $490,000. This includes $430,000 in construction costs to
install sprinklers and refurbish the galleries, as well as $60,000 in
exhibit costs.
The Museum s construction budget was prepared based on their Quantity
Surveyor s estimate and will be further amended to ensure that the
project cost will stay within the funding envelope. Staff have also
reviewed the PSC s project to ensure that it has met all of the City s
conditions required under their lease and through previous Council
directions. Staff are satisfied that PSC will have secured the
balance of the necessary private sector funds through a vendor
financing arrangement, and that the form of financing is acceptable to
the Infrastructure Program.
As well, staff have reviewed the concept drawings generated by the PSC
and VMC s space planning consultants and believe that they meet the
needs of the PSC, the VMC and the City. In order to complete any
construction work, both societies will need to comply with all
necessary regulatory approvals.
Financial Implications
Council is being requested to approve the allocation of the $490,000
in advance of the approval the 1997 Capital Budget, with interim
financing from Revenue Surplus. However, it is noted that, should the
Provincial Government impose significant reductions in their local
government grant to the City, there will be significant challenges for
the new Council to face in setting the 1997 Operating Budget. One
option that Council would consider is making reductions to the 1997
Capital Budget - Capital from Revenue, and the Museum project might be
identified as an area to make such reductions. Regardless, it is the
view of staff that the work recommended in this report should proceed,
even if the balance of the Museum project is put on hold to a future
year.
CONCLUSION
In reviewing the PSC and VMC s improvement projects, staff believe
that the benefits of co-ordinating these two projects has sufficient
merit to submit this request for funding to Council in advance of the
Capital Plan approval process.
Staff commend both Societies in forging a closer working relationship
which will benefit both institutions, and most importantly, the
public.
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