Design unveiled for new Thunder Bay waterfront art gallery

The proposal to bring Thunder Bay's art gallery to the waterfront is one step closer to reality, after the preliminary design for the structure was unveiled at a public meeting on Tuesday night.

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The proposed new 40,000 square foot,two-storeybuilding would be located south of the Spirit Garden, on Tugboat Basin, and it would include an event hall overlooking Lake Superior, a cafe and a larger gift shop.

It would also afford the Thunder Bay Art Gallery much more visibility, said director SharonGodwin.

"At our current location, we don't have that visibility," she said.

"We've been in this location for 40 years. We've drastically outgrown the space."

The more prominent, and spacious waterfront location would allow the gallery to contribute to tourism "much more effectively," she added.

While the proposed waterfront building, which would be more than twice as large as the gallery's current location on the Confederation College campus,would cost more to operate, Godwin said there would also be more potential to generate revenue, in part by renting out space.

"We're looking at changing the percentage of self-earned revenue so that we're raising more of our own money on the waterfront," she said.

"We think it's definitely possible, because of the visibility."

The price tag for the new gallery is $33 million, and the gallery is seeking a $5 million contribution from the city.

In a best case scenario, construction could begin as soon as the summer of 2017, and the new gallery could be constructed by mid-2019, Godwin said.

Representatives from the Vancouver design firmPatkauArchitects, which was selected to the design the gallery, and lead consulting firm Brook McIlroy were at the public meeting on Tuesday to present the preliminary design.

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