B.C. pledges $49M for downtown Vancouver arts campus

Premier Gordon Campbell was in Vancouver Tuesday to announce the province willcontribute $49.3 million toward a new art school that will be part of the Woodward's redevelopment project in the Downtown Eastside.

Campbell said the new campus for Simon Fraser University's School for the Contemporary Arts will help British Columbia recruit and retain creative, talented people and support the renewal of the troubled neighbourhood.

The 11,845-square-metre school, scheduled for completion by late 2009,will fill five storeys and will include public space, performance venues, teaching studios, a 400-seat theatre and a multimedia lounge and lab for new media.

The state-of-the-art performance spaces will engage the community and showcase creative works by some of Canada's most accomplished students and faculty in the arts, said Campbell.

The university will pay for the remaining $22 million cost of the school through a fundraising campaign.

When it is completed, the school is expected to increase economic activity in the Downtown Eastside by up to $7.5 million per year.

The campus is part of the larger Woodward's redevelopment built on the former site of the heritage building. A portion of the original building has been incorporated into the new development, which will include a market and social housing as well as office and retail space, childcare and City of Vancouver services.