Kamloops performing arts centre cost up by 37% as construction set to begin

Crews are about to break ground on the long-awaited Kamloops performing arts centre and the cost will be millions higher than estimates from just a year ago.

Construction is estimated to cost a total $211 million, but the city anticipates no additional tax increases. That’s 37 per cent more than last year’s projection, and around $30 million will come from reserves.

With three big civic projects now at various stages of approval, their total cost is now more than half-a-billion dollars.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the arts centre is scheduled for Nov. 26, but Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson said he wants to pause the project amid rising costs.

“Are we taking all the reserves out for this because we’re so focused on these two projects?” Hamer-Jackson said, referring to the arts centre and the upcoming multiplex arena.

The increase in costs is partly due to new revelations about the design after staff found the ground at the former Daily News property isn’t as flat as previously though. Adjustments to the foundation will increase costs and sacrifice some of the underground parking space.

Previous estimates pegged the construction cost at around $154 million and taxpayers approved a $140 million loan to fund the bulk of the project last year, done through a counter petition process.

With $20 million anticipated to come from sponsorships and donations and another $8.4 million from grants, the rest is so far planned to be paid for through city coffers. That includes $14 million from current reserves, $13 million from “existing funds” and another $15.5 million from “future reserves,” according to the city website.

“This is a disciplined, transparent financial plan,” Coun. Kelly Hall said in a Nov. 25 news release. “Every dollar is accounted for, and the integrated project delivery model ensures accountability and value at every stage.”

In order to fund the project, council may be forced to reallocate money for other projects in order to prioritize the arts centre, which has been in the plans for a decade. The loan considered in 2020, cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was $45 million.

Meanwhile, the multiplex arena hasn’t seen a detailed business plan made public, but the mountainside project at Kenna Cartwright park will be funded in part through a $135 million loan. It was approved at the same time as the arts centre loan.

Still waiting approval is the new Kamloops RCMP station, which is expected to be backed by a $150 million loan. The total cost could be as high as $170 million.

That would bring the combined total to $516 million.

“We’ve got a very unstable or unsettled economy, and that’s when you pull the reins back,” Hamer-Jackson said, concerned about whether the provincial or federal governments will have funds to support the projects.

He also said he would prefer new locations for all three projects, but those calls have repeatedly been shot down by city councillors and staff.

Asked how he plans to raise his request to pause the arts centre construction, Hamer-Jackson said he hopes another councillor will do so instead.