Construction continues through the winter for Sudbury's Place des Arts

The cold weather and looming winter hasn't stopped construction on the multidisciplinary arts centre in downtown Sudbury.

The construction for Place des Arts on the corner of Larch and Elgin streets started behind schedule in August and will continue through the winter.

"They do work in the winter ... a lot of the foundation work will be done soon and then they'll be starting working on still beams so they knew when they signed the contract that winter construction was happening, so that's the plan, they dress up for it," said Léo Therrien, the executive director of Place des Arts.

Once the $30 million project is complete, Place des Arts will be a contemporary arts and culture facility for francophones — which includes a 299-seat theatre, art gallery, bookstore and early childhood artistic centre.

"It started a bit late but we're catching up now and there's tons of activity on the site. So we're excited," he said.

Therrien says the construction workers use orange tarps and heaters to warm up the areas where they're working and warm the concrete before it's poured.

He says the plan is to have the project completed and open in December 2020.

"The plan is still to have it done by Christmas next year and put a nice ribbon on it for a nice gift to Sudbury," said Therrien.

There is a little more funding needed for the project, says Therrien. He says they still need to raise about $700,000.

However, he says they're already looking into more fundraising options, like having people pay to sponsor a seat in the theatre.

Therrien says once Place des Arts is operational, they will be looking for some funding through various city arts and culture grants as well as provincial and federal funding programs.

He says Place des Arts will also help bring more money into the city by bringing in more tourists.

"Once we open we will generate funds, we have a theater, we'll have a gift shop and bookstore," he said.