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Rights museum needs $45M

Construction costs, low dollar cited

By: Kevin Rollason

Posted: 05/27/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

Artist's rendering of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. (WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights needs another $45 million because of escalating construction costs and the drop in the Canadian dollar in the last year.

As well, Arni Thorsteinson, chairman of the museum's board of trustees, says the museum, made a federal institution by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2007, also needs more green to make the building green.

Thorsteinson said the museum's board has officially asked the Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights to raise another $45 million. The group has already raised more than its goal of $105 million privately.

Thorsteinson said the additional fundraising is needed because costs for the museum, originally pegged at $165 million in 2007 for the base building alone and a total of $265 million to build and add exhibits, have risen because of inflationary construction-cost hikes, rising specialty material costs and the drop in the Canadian dollar since the budget was written up.

"It would be nice if all four participants -- private sector and governments -- could participate and give us additional funding," he said on Tuesday.

Thorsteinson said the glass for the exterior can only be sourced in Europe, while the specialty steel for the structure comes exclusively from a company in the United States.

Thorsteinson said making the building green represents about $6 to $7 million of the additional costs.

"These are the factors that are contributing to the cost increase," he said.

"When the building was designed it was not LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System) environmentally built. In 2012, we did not want to open an unqualified green building."

Last week, when the museum's budget and corporate plan were tabled in the House of Commons, it came out that the museum was already on track to be over budget on both capital costs for construction and its annual operations budget.

The museum had already reported annual costs would rise as it didn't factor in having to pay municipal taxes, expected to be up to $9 million a year.

A federal government spokeswoman said last week it won't contribute more cash because it is already providing $100 million toward construction and $21.7 million in annual operating costs.

Construction has already begun with excavation and foundation work at the site near The Forks.

Patrick O'Reilly, the museum's chief operating officer, said the museum's board, appointed by the federal government, has gone through the entire budget and has been able to trim about $12 million from construction costs. He said most of the cuts -- which the public won't notice -- are for interior building materials, changes to floor supports and redesigning the air-conditioning and heating system.

O'Reilly said the board also looked at scrapping the entire architectural plan -- a design that includes a tower by Antoine Predock chosen after a competition -- but realized that with the resulting design delays and construction costs, it wouldn't have saved them any money.

"It would have cost just as much and we would have had less of a design," he said. "We want something iconic that will draw people to Canada."

Gail Asper, who is now the national campaign chairwoman for the fundraising body, said she's confident the extra money will be raised.

"The goal is to get the capital done and then raise $50 million more for the endowment fund," she said.

Asper said the group will now be asking for money from donors across Canada, the United States and elsewhere.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 27, 2009 B1

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