Toronto Community Housing, The Daniels Corporation and Artscape have announced that they will be working collaboratively with the local community on the development and operation of a new arts and cultural centre in Regent Park. The announcement came on the heels of a commitment made by the Honourable John Baird, Canada’s Transport and Infrastructure Minister, and the Honourable Aileen Carroll, Minister of Culture for Ontario, on behalf of the Honourable Gerry Phillips, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure for Ontario that the Governments of Canada and Ontario will invest up to $12 million each in a new Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre.
The Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre will be a new multi-tenant arts centre located on Dundas Street East between Sumach and Sackville Streets and will be designed by Toronto-based Diamond + Schmitt Architects.
“The arts and cultural centre, in the heart of the revitalized Regent Park, will be a place where people from all across the city can come together to celebrate the arts, artists and this vibrant and diverse neighbourhood,” said Keiko Nakamura, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Toronto Community Housing. The Daniels Corporation is the development and construction partner for all phases of the Regent Park revitalization plan and will manage the construction of the Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre. Artscape will be responsible for overseeing the development and ongoing operation of the facility.
The development of a new arts and cultural centre as part of the ongoing revitalization of Regent Park has been a standing ambition for Toronto’s east downtown and a long held aspiration of the Regent Park community. The Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre will anchor culture as a primary driver in the community’s revitalization, both physically and symbolically. Tenants will be selected by an RFP process that will take place in early 2010. The non-profit arts community has already expressed strong interest in the Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre.