TUESDAY
K A M L O O P S
THIS WEEK
Tuesday, April 8, 2014 X Volume 27 No. 40 www.kamloopsthisweek.com X 30 cents at Newsstands
Report dismisses KDN site as arts-centre home By Dale Bass
STAFF REPORTER
dale@kamloopsthisweek.com
City hall was told last year the Kamloops Daily News building and surrounding land would not be appropriate for the performingarts centre concept being considered. The report by Tomer Curiel, a professional engineer and the project manager for the Pacific region for MHPM Project Leaders, a project-management company, refers to the project as a “high-level program” developed by city staff and Thibodeau Architecture and Design (TAD). The site-options analysis, one of several heavily redacted documents accessed by KTW through a freedom-of-information request, describes a centre that would include: • A 1,500-seat theatre with orchestra pit, although it notes the centre “is not being purpose-built for a symphony.” Estimated size is 23,750 square feet. • A 250- to 300-seat black-box theatre with no fixed stage and collapsible or removable seats. Estimated size is 7,413 square feet. • Soundproof warm-up spaces/studios and rehearsal spaces. Estimated size is 6,800 square feet. Dressing-room space would take up another 11,421 square feet. • Generous and esthetically pleasing
Via a freedom-of-information request, KTW has received from the City of Kamloops documents related to the proposed purchase of the former Kamloops Daily News site. Included in the information are details of a $9,000 site-analysis report that determined the property would not be suitable for a performing-arts centre. lobby/foyer space. Estimated size is 17,500 square feet. • A back-of-house designed to accommodate production companies. • No conference space. • Possibly providing capabilities for food service in the lobby. • A public-plaza space. • Streetscape improvements and setbacks, specifically on Seymour Street. • Public access for transit, bicycles, dropoffs, etc. • The administration area would be an estimated 2,579 square feet. • Building services would take up another 15,199 square feet. • Parking and loading would take up 84,000 square feet. • The total project would require 168,711 square feet. Curiel writes that the building that housed KDN “would be demolished as part of the
project,” but “it was determined that the site would not function for the intended program.” The following two pages are redacted. TAD calls itself an architectural firm that specializes in “transforming existing buildings into renewed, inspiring spaces. Our expertise in dealing with the complexities of these buildings makes us ideally suited to tackle projects such as complete interior transformations, building extensions, specialized repairs and remedial work.” It’s apparent the city was looking at the site in the middle of 2013. On June 6, Dave Freeman, the city’s real-estate supervisor, sent a memo to three of the top managers at city hall. The subject was a performing-arts centre in Kamloops. Recipients were arts, cultural and heritage manager Barbara Berger, parks, recreation and culture director Byron McCorkell and chief administrative officer David Trawin. Part of the email is redacted — blacked out because its disclosure is deemed harmful to the financial or economic interests of the city. The last paragraph, however, can be read: “Kamloops Daily News — Had a voice message from Rob Hackett of Madison Properties enquiring on next steps.”
MAYOR STILL LIKES PROPERTY FOR CENTRE By Andrea Klassen STAFF REPORTER
andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
Though a report commissioned by the city appears to rule out the Kamloops Daily News site as the future home of a performing-arts centre, Mayor Peter Milobar said the Seymour Street location is still very much in the mix. In a report by MHPM Project Managers Inc. prepared for the city in November of 2013, consultant Tomer Curiel said the site didn’t match the city’s space needs. Milobar said that report, obtained by KTW via a freedom-of-information request, was written before the city had fully committed to purchasing the Daily News site from Glacier Media. “At that point, we were looking at some other sites as well — and the Daily News site we looked at,” he said. “We took a cursory look at square footage and thought, well, we’ll see if another one can work or not. Then we came back to the Daily News and took a harder look at the square-footage requirements and how you might be able to layer things.” X See MILOBAR A14
X See THE SITE A13
We Make Mortgages Easy… Really Easy!
250-434-8900 Toll Free: 1-877-556-8488 376 Seymour Street Kamloops, BC V2C 2G2 Western Lending Source
MARY-ELLEN COLMAN* AMP
250-371-4868
colmanmortgages.ca *dbaMary-Ellen Mary-EllenColman Colman *dba
BRIAN DELANY
250-819-8176 briandelany.ca
STARR WEBB AMP
DEBORAH FEHR
starrwebb.ca
250-571-2472
250-574-0115
865 Victoria St. office
dfehr.ca
CAROL CANDY AMP
250-318-7048 carolcandy.ca
WENDY DANIELS
250-572-4750
wendydaniels.ca
KAREN McKENZIE
250-318-8891
karenmckenzie.ca