Vancouver Cultural Precinct group eyes new performing-arts halls sharing proposed Vancouver Art Gallery site
City council throws support behind feasibility study’s call for world-class mid-size venue and recital hall
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra has been seeking a new concert hall for three decades.
VANCOUVER CITY HALL is backing a just-released feasibility study from the Vancouver Concert Hall and Theatre Society, bringing the dream of a new two-venue building to a Vancouver Cultural Precinct another step closer to fruition.
The project team now has city council support for its next phase, where it will explore in more detail possible sites, designs, and budgeting.
“What we’ll know within about a year from now is what we will build, where we will build it, and the order we will build it in,” Vancouver Cultural Precinct chair Suzanne Anton told Stir today, adding she was pleased with the strong support at City Hall.
The feasibility study, undertaken by Diamond Schmitt Architects, identifies the need for a new 1,800-seat music hall and a smaller 450-seat multi-use hall.
Three locations are in consideration: sharing the new Vancouver Art Gallery site at Larwill Park, where proposals show performing-arts spaces either at one-third of the site (with a single music space of 1,200 to 1,800 seats) or one-half of the site (allowing for the addition of a second, 400-seat recital hall); the current Queen Elizabeth Theatre site, where space has been identified on the plaza; and Robson Square (accommodating both the larger and smaller halls).
Twenty-six performing-arts groups—from the Coastal Jazz and Blues Society and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra to Chor Leoni, DanceHouse, and Ballet BC—are working with the society in its vision for new and improved facilities in Vancouver. The feasibility study has also highlighted the need to consider renovations to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, the Vancouver Playhouse, and the Orpheum.
“The lack of appropriately sized and equipped performance venues is hampering the development of our cultural eco-system, and by extension, the cultural and social growth of Vancouver,” DanceHouse artistic and executive director Jim Smith said at council yesterday. “We are fortunate to have many homegrown Vancouver artists who are celebrated on the international stage. The city does not have the infrastructure to support the scale and ambition of the talent who lives here, nor are we consistently able to welcome international artists whose work could inspire and challenge us.”
He added: “What impression do we make when international artists arrive at our aging, technically limited venues?”
Smith cited former Ballet BC artistic director Emily Molnar’s world-renowned Nederlands Dans Theater as just one company that Vancouver can’t host, because the Vancouver Playhouse is too small and the Queen Elizabeth Theatre is too large for the troupe.
“Every one of them needs new or better facilities in the city of Vancouver,” Anton told council yesterday of the 26 groups backing the project.
The feasibility study finds all the civic theatres are booked to capacity, with groups regularly unable to find space for events. The Orpheum alone is booked a solid 311 days of the year, something Anton said is “almost unheard of”.
Anton pointed out that Vancouver has both the lowest per-capita seat count for music and the lowest per-capita number of performing-arts venues in Canada or in “comparable international cities”. This, despite the fact that area residents spend more on the performing arts than the national average.
“A cultural precinct would support unmet space needs for music and performing arts organizations, create a lasting cultural legacy that would help our arts sector thrive, support a vibrant city, boost the economy, help make Vancouver a performing arts destination, and provide incredible experiences for residents,” said councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung, who brought the motion to council.
“The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra has been seeking a new concert hall for three decades,” said David Garofalo, chair of the Vancouver Symphony Society, in a statement reacting to the news. “With this project, the VSO will be able to properly show the incredible talent of local and visiting artists. Businesses are more likely to locate and thrive where there are vibrant arts scenes. This project will be transformational for business and tourist attraction in Vancouver.”
A feasibility study found Vancouver Civic Theatres like the Queen Elizabeth Theatre and the Vancouver Playhouse are booked to capacity.
The proposed complex would include a hall with an orchestra pit, wings, and proscenium suitable for dance, ballet, and opera—filling a gap in mid-size venues that can accommodate the needs of those art forms.
The fresh proposal of sharing the Vancouver Art Gallery site comes after news late last year that the VAG was pulling the plug on a long-planned new gallery project designed by the Swiss architect firm Herzog & de Meuron. Facing a budget that had ballooned from $400 million to $600 million, the VAG is in the midst of reimagining the project.
“They’re keen and we’re keen,” Anton said of a possible collaboration on the Larwill Park site, though stressing it’s important to fully consider the feasibility of the Robson Square and Q.E. spots as well. “I want to know what the public reaction is, as well,” she added.
The feasibility plan backs the idea of growing Vancouver’s already strong reputation as a performing-arts destination, not just for international visiting performers but for homegrown productions.
“This is the first time since I’ve lived here and since I’ve worked in the arts that the music organizations and opera and dance have come together as one whole unit to fight for, to strive for the building of a cultural precinct,” Leila Getz, artistic director of the Vancouver Recital Society, told Stir when the arts groups secured city funding to move forward with the feasibility study last June.
The concept of a cultural precinct has been kicked around by various city councils, societies, and arts groups for decades. In 1993, the city secured a site in Coal Harbour for an arts complex, along with $7.5 million from developer Marathon Realty in community amenity contributions. The arts complex was to be developed and operated by the Vancouver Concert Hall and Theatre Society (VCHTS), a nonprofit established by a consortium of presenters.
In 2003, that plan was eclipsed by the Province’s Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project, and Vancouver City Council agreed to release the City’s interest in the site to the Province, in exchange for a cash contribution of $10.6 million. In an email to Stir, Amber Sessions, senior communications specialist at the City of Vancouver, confirmed that the fund is now valued at $32 million.
The next kick at the can came in 2011, when the VCHTS, chaired by local businessman Ron Stern, unveiled a plan to repurpose the current Vancouver Art Gallery site into a 1,950-seat underground concert hall and 450-seat multipurpose theatre—complete with designs by architect Bing Thom and acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota. It was a bold vision, but one that ultimately failed to gain traction.
Mayor Ken Sim stressed that backing the motion to support the Vancouver Cultural Precinct’s next steps would not take away from voiced needs for smaller arts venues in the city. “It’s not an either-or scenario,” he assured, adding that the Vancouver Cultural Precinct’s efforts will boost the city’s economy and vibrancy: “It brings a swagger and vibe to this community and that’s the stuff that makes the city incredible,” he said. 
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