City, National accessArts Centre, at odds over relocation of disability arts organization

The CEO of the National accessArts Centre (NaAC) says the disability arts organization continues to be at an impasse with the City of Calgary over its relocation.

Jung-Suk Ryu says the NaAC bought a full-page advertisement in Tuesday's print edition of the Calgary Herald to try and get the city to fund renovations that would allow the group to finally move into the former Scouts Canada building beside Memorial Drive in the West Hillhurst neighbourhood.

Ryu says the Fairview arena, where the NaAC is currently located, is "unsalvageable" and "unsafe." 

The roof of the Fairview building collapsed in 2018 and the NaAC has been trying to move into the former Scouts Canada building, which is owned by the city, ever since.

In a statement, the City of Calgary contradicted Ryu and said the Fairview arena is "safe and operable."

Ryu says the NaAC is reaching a breaking point and that the city refuses to work with them on finalizing the centre's relocation.

"After many unsuccessful attempts to bring city administration…back to the table to address what is now a five-year long impasse with the City of Calgary, we have gone out of our way to try and get their attention with this," he said, referring to the full-page ad in the Herald.

The city challenged the claim that it refuses to work with the NaAC.

It says it first presented the NaAC with the option to relocate in 2020, and since then has been working with the disability arts organization to evaluate the viability of different design scenarios and accessibility upgrades for the former Scouts Canada building.

"NaAC had the option to consider other locations that may have been more cost-effective but decided to move forward with construction at the West Hillhurst Civic Building," the city said.

Ryu claims because the former Scouts Canada building is designated as a heritage site, it has caused delays in repurposing the accessibility of the building to code.

The city says the project's total cost is estimated to be $6.1 million, and that it is contributing $4.5 million in funding from the insurance claim from the Fairview arena collapse, and "compensation in lieu of tenant improvements at the Fairview facility." 

WATCH | National accessArts Centre gets a new home

National accessArts Centre gets a new home

14 days ago

Duration 1:31

The centre, which supports artists with disabilities, has been looking for a permanent base since the roof collapsed at Fairview Arena in 2018, where the centre was previously housed. The new campus is being funded through a partnership between the centre and Trico Communities.

The city says the NaAC is expected to contribute the remaining $1.6 million for "their tenant preferences, such as interior wall locations, finishes, etc.," and asked the disability arts organization to confirm funding by March 31 to meet with current construction timelines. 

"To proceed with the tenant portion of the project, the NaAC needs to demonstrate that they have 90 per cent of the required $1.6 million for these improvements," the city said.

Ryu questioned why the disability arts organization is on the hook for partially funding renovations to a city-owned property. 

The NaAC has raised $1.45 million, but "because $300,000 of [it] will come in installments from our partners, [the city] said that this isn't good enough," Ryu said.

The city says it is committed to engaging in further conversations with the NaAC to move forward with this project and if the NaAC needs additional time to fundraise, it can propose an alternate timeframe to the city. 

"The NaAC indicated they did not require any additional time," the city said. "In the event the funding amount cannot be confirmed within the established timeline, the project will be put temporarily on hold until the funding conditions are met."