City Council Moves Forward on Large Projects

Jun 29, 2017

At the regular meeting of Council on June 27, Council decided to move forward with the arena/event centre at the Kingsway location. At the Special Council meeting held today, Council approved the concepts for a joint Library/Art Gallery and the Synergy Convention Centre, and decided to undertake a site evaluation and selection process for both projects.

“As Mayor, and as a resident of this great city, I am thrilled with the momentum we are developing in moving forward and growing our community,” said Greater Sudbury Mayor Brian Bigger. “The positive impacts these projects will have on our economy and quality of life will be felt for years to come. They demonstrate growth, prosperity and a bright future for Greater Sudbury.”

Arena/Event Centre

The new Kingsway arena/events centre location aligns with City Council’s strategic priorities of Growth and Economic Development, and Quality of Life and Place. In making their decision, Council focused on factors such as vision and long-term economic impact of the site. The cost of the arena/events centre project, including site development and construction, is estimated at up to $100 million. Financing options will be presented to City Council during the 2018 budget deliberations later this year.

Place des arts

Place des arts representatives updated Council on the progress of the project. Fundraising efforts are ongoing for the balance of the nearly $30 million total project cost. As part of the 2017 budget, City Council approved a $5 million dollar capital contribution, pending funding by private parties and other levels of government. The Province of Ontario and the Northern Ontario Heritage fund have also recently announced investments toward the project.

Synergy Convention Centre

The Greater Sudbury Synergy Centre is proposing to be a state-of-the-art public meeting and performance facility that can be used for conference plenaries and banquets, and would also include a 950 seat community auditorium. The secondary focus of providing a larger scale arts and cultural live performance community auditorium gives the venue a unique positioning in the market.

City Council today approved the concept of the centre, as well as a one-time allocation of $187,500 to undertake a site evaluation and selection process, as well as finalize a detailed business plan, operation model, conceptual design and financial plan for the Centre.

Library/Art Gallery

Council has also approved the concept for the Art Gallery of Sudbury/Greater Sudbury Public Library and a one-time funding allocation of $100,000 to undertake a site evaluation and selection process. The phase one update presented to Council today identifies that a co-located Main Library and Art Gallery in Greater Sudbury’s downtown is feasible and would result in capital and operational efficiencies, as well as a number of benefits to users of both facilities.

An update on the status of these projects will be provided to Council in December 2017.

For more information and updates, visit www.greatersudbury.ca/largeprojects.

About the Large Projects initiative

At the April 20, 2016, meeting of Council, Council endorsed in principle four Large Projects: Place des arts, the Synergy Conference Centre, the Art Gallery of Sudbury/Library, and the Arena/Event Centre.

Staff were directed to undertake next steps with regards to each of the four projects, and return to Council with regular updates. Since that time, work has been ongoing, primarily led through the Economic Development division with support from other departments. In the fall of 2016, a Steering Committee of senior staff was established, with the objective of ensuring City Council has sufficient, appropriate information to make decisions about the corporation's involvement in these projects.

Each of the Large Projects aligns with Council’s Strategic Plan, Greater Together, by supporting all four of the pillars: Growth and Economic Development; Responsive, Fiscally Prudent, Open Governance; Quality of Life and Place; and Sustainable Infrastructure.

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