ELORA – Elora Centre for the Arts is planning to expand and renovate its centre in order to comply with the standards of accessibility.
“We’re a heritage building and there’s challenges that come with being a heritage building when it comes to accessibility. Our ultimate goal is to be AODA compliant, which means accessible entryways, universal washrooms, accessible washrooms and entrances,” explained Lianne Carter, executive director of the Elora Centre for the Arts (ECFTA), in a phone interview.
“We thought if we’re planning on doing this kind of expansion project, what other needs can we include in this project that would serve the community. So, we’ll also be including a large atrium that we’re going to make big enough so that it could be used for all kinds of multi-use space. We want it to be as multi-functional as possible.”
The proposed construction includes a 3,583 square-foot addition with featured atrium and multi-purpose space, accessible washrooms, coat room, loading entrance and storage. It will also include a renovation of the existing staff kitchen and the opening of four interior walls to connect disparate galleries.
“The new addition has been architecturally designed to enhance the presence of the centre in the community, while respecting the historic nature of the existing building and surrounding neighbourhood,” said Carter.
ECFTA has been working with SRM Architect Inc. to get their proposal and architectural design in place before council. They will be presenting their proposal at Centre Wellington’s heritage committee meeting over Zoom on Tuesday.
“This is just the beginning and since we are a heritage building, the process is quite long. The first step was getting funding grants and now we just need to get the heritage permit in place,” she said.
Carter explained they received over $90,000 in federal and provincial grants. ECFTA will still, however, be doing a capital fundraising campaign in order to meet the difference between the grant and the required cost of the project.
“We were also awarded from the Township of Centre Wellington McDonald’s back in 2019. The township was the first to give us a funding grant. It’s a combination of five different grants that we have successfully accumulated over the past two years,” explained Carter.
