Ontario Construction News staff writer
Sudbury will receive $500,000 from the federal government to launch the Junction East project.
Funds from the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund will be used for a comprehensive feasibility study. The project will bring together the Greater Sudbury Public Library’s central branch, the Art Gallery of Sudbury, and potential partners the Sudbury Theatre Centre and the Sudbury Multicultural and Folk Arts Association.
“Our government recognizes that the past year has been difficult for cultural institutions across Canada. We are committed to supporting our creative industries and ensuring that our cultural infrastructure lives up to its full potential. We are proud to invest in Junction East, and to enable the local community and its visitors to benefit from a vibrant cultural space that reflects the region’s rich heritage,” said Steven Guilbeault, minister of Canadian Heritage
Junction East will be an approximately 62,000 square foot building in Greater Sudbury’s historic downtown, expected to open in 2024. It will include:
- New Central Library
- The Art Gallery of Sudbury
- Potential future partners Sudbury Theatre Centre and Sudbury Multicultural and Folk Arts Association.
Institutions will share space in one building but continue to have distinct identities with separate missions, governance, staffing structures and sources of operating revenues.
Junction East will be located on Shaughnessy Street in Downtown Sudbury (the parking lot beside the Sudbury Theatre Centre), the preferred site selected by Council in May 2019.
“Investing in the Junction East project will help tie spaces of cultural importance together in Nickel Belt–Greater Sudbury. Arts and culture remain a vibrant part of our communities, and this funding will help ensure our local talent and attractions can be accessible and enjoyable for all,” said Nickel Belt MP Marc G. Serré.
The City of Greater Sudbury will be seeking input into the development of a design for the Junction East building between February and April of 2021. To take part, visit https://overtoyou.greatersudbury.ca/.
“I am very proud that our government is partnering with the City of Greater Sudbury and its partners—the Greater Sudbury Public Library and the Art Gallery of Sudbury—on this transformative project. Like the McEwen School of Architecture and Place des Arts, our government is investing in Sudbury as its downtown continues to grow and prosper,” said Paul Lefebvre, parliamentary secretary to the minister of natural resources.
The Canada Cultural Spaces Fund supports the improvement of physical conditions for arts, heritage, culture and creative innovation, including creative hubs. The fund supports renovation and construction projects, the acquisition of specialized equipment, and feasibility studies for cultural spaces. Since its creation in 2001, the fund has supported more than 1,000 projects, including spaces for performing arts, visual arts, media arts, museum collections, heritage displays and creative hubs.
The Junction East project aligns with the City of Greater Sudbury’s cultural plan, which interconnects four strategic directions: creative identity, creative people, creative places and creative economy.
It will purposefully create a space where visitors can further their knowledge and their appreciation for the visual arts, and discover local heritage and stories developed by local creators. Collectively, the co-occupant institutions included in this project attract thousands of visitors each year.
