The Art Gallery of Algoma building on Sault Ste. Marie’s waterfront needs to be torn down and replaced, city councillors were told tonight.
“The building that was opened in 1980 is now quite deteriorated,” said Peggy Theodore, principal of Diamond Schmitt Architects.
“From the outside you might not see that,” said Theodore, whose firm recently completed a feasibility study on expanding or replacing the 43-year-old structure.
“Operations and growth have exceeded its capacity and the original design no longer meets current functional and technical standards of a gallery.”
As SooToday reported on Saturday, the gallery’s board is proposing to build a new, two-level art gallery in Clergue Park.
It would be approximately 30,000 square feet, compared to the existing 18,000-square-foot structure.
No estimate of the new building’s cost was provided at tonight’s meeting, which was intended as an early-stage briefing for city council.
A number of councillors asked questions that suggested they might be less than fiercely enthusiastic about the proposed building and its cost.
Other bozzettos from Monday night’s city council meeting:
