Concert hall to get $12.5-million renovation

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This article was published 09/03/2021 (1978 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Centennial Concert Hall is getting a $12.5-million facelift.

An iconic venue since its construction in downtown Winnipeg in 1967-1968, the concert hall has been home to local institutions such as the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Manitoba Opera and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, while welcoming scores of popular performers spanning half a century — from Johnny Cash to Dolly Parton to Drake.

But nearly 53 years since the hall held its opening ceremonies, the building is in need of some key upgrades — namely the removal and reinstallation of 40,000 square feet of stone cladding — hence the province’s award Monday of the hefty renovations tender to Bockstael Construction.

“The concert hall was built more than 50 years ago, and the time has come to restore and reinstall the building’s iconic Tyndall cladding and make upgrades to the roof system, windows and doors,” said central services minister Reg Helwer Monday in a joint release with sport, culture and heritage minister Cathy Cox.

From the top down, the hall will be getting some much-needed renovations, the province said: a new roof drainage system, the remediation of “any hazardous materials as required,” new windows and doors, and the addition of fixed fall-protection infrastructure.

“The investment builds on other work in recent years and will ensure the building will be able to operate for many years to come,” Helwer added.

That work has been ongoing, but over the course of the last year, with public events on hold owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the concert hall has undergone an extensive series of aesthetic and structural upgrades that otherwise might not have been completed until further in the future.

The nearly 5,000 square-foot Piano Nobile level is having its carpeting removed, with its sublevel of hardwood flooring — an original design feature — getting a restoration. About 50,000 square feet of new carpeting is being installed on the venue’s staircases and hallways, replacing the red carpeting that covered the ground for over three decades. Improved exterior lighting has been installed, as have wall-protecting bumper strips near the back entrance.

Other investments and changes were more directly driven by the pandemic: new touchless washroom fixtures are being installed, and colour-coded doors are meant to control inward and outward flow. Meanwhile, portable backpack foggers have been purchased for disinfection of public spaces before, during, and after events.

As work goes on, Cox said the tender will help the building “maintain its designation as a building with potential historical significance” and “ensure it remains a cornerstone of Manitoba’s cultural community in the years ahead.”

According to the concert hall’s website, the building was conceived as an idea in 1960, aimed at commemorating the country’s centenary and to “initiate a broad scheme of urban renewal” in the Point Douglas area. It was built at a cost of $8 million, with funding from all three levels of government, however the bulk (nearly $7 million) came through private and corporate donations.

It was designed by architecture firms Green Blankstein Russell, Moody Moore and Partners, and Smith Carter Searle and Associates, with renowned American theatre designer George Izenour and pioneering acoustics firm Bolt, Beranek and Newman serving as consultants.

The province anticipates the current renovation project will be complete by 2022, assuming no unexpected delays, and on-budget, presuming no unforeseen costs.

For the time being, the concert hall is not hosting audiences for the performances on its stage. Instead, its tenants are streaming upcoming shows, such as the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Visions of Swan Lake, or the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s Mozart, Cimarosa & Bartok, for fans to watch at home.

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca