Construction begins on long-awaited Fredericton performing arts centre
The $82M project slated to open late 2026
Fredericton residents will soon start to see signs of life on the site of the new performing arts centre.
The new centre, at the corner of Regent and King streets downtown will replace the Fredericton Playhouse. The new centre has been in the works for about six years, with plans changing, construction start-dates moving and the price-tag increasing.
But on Monday, federal, provincial and municipal representatives gathered in front of the site to announce that construction is getting underway, with expected completion in late 2026.
Work will begin on the ground, but residents won't begin to see the steel and concrete structure going up until fall, said Tim Yerxa, executive director of the Fredericton Playhouse.
Tim
Yerxa, executive director of the Fredericton Playhouse, says various
tenders will begin to go out shortly for the nearly $82-million project. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
"I think it's safe to say that as exciting as it is for all of you, no one is more excited than me," said Yerxa, speaking to a crowd of people gathered for the event Monday morning.
Monday's gathering included Grand Chief Ron Tremblay, who performed a smudging ceremony, and other members of the Wolastoqey Nation who handed out tobacco and cedar and sang for the crowd.
Musician and multi-award winner Jeremy Dutcher was a part of the group who sang Wolastoq, a song that was translated by the late Elder Gwen Bear-Sagatay.
While speaking to reporters afterwards, Dutcher said the ceremony was a good beginning to the project that has "been building for a long time, but now it's finally kind of unfurling."
Musician Jeremy Dutcher was part of a group that sang at the ground-breaking ceremony on Monday. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
He said the Fredericton Playhouse space is "everything" to him, and he feels fortunate that he had the opportunity to engage in the arts as a young person.
"In the life of a young person on stage, it's like, those are some of your most fearful moments, is being on that stage and trying to tell a story," said Dutcher. "But they're also some of the most beautiful moments too."
Grand Chief Ron Tremblay led a smudging ceremony on Monday. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
He said he'll be curious to see how the current Fredericton Playhouse space is going to "live again."
The Playhouse land will revert to the ownership of the city once the new performing arts centre is operating, said Yerxa.
Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers said the city has not discussed what will be done with the building, except that it will be a "substantive development."
"What that's going to look like, what that will consist of, we haven't even gone down that journey," she told reporters. "The focus has been entirely on making [the new performing arts centre] happen.
"We haven't gone to tender, we haven't even imagined what we want that space to be."
Mayor Kate Rogers says there have not been discussions yet about what will take over the current Fredericton Playhouse site. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
The most recent cost estimate for the performing arts centre breaks down to $46.6 million from the federal government, $22.6 million from the city, $10 million from the community fundraising campaign, and $2.3 million from the anticipated sale of the current playhouse property.
The plan for the building includes two theatres, with the main theatre having the capacity to accommodate about 800 people.
Yerxa said various tenders will begin to go out shortly for the nearly $82-million project — a cost that has changed multiple times in the last several years.
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