House Threatened by Retrofit Costs

For Immediate Release:

June 7, 2013

Heritage Home of Ottawa Lumière Festival Threatened by High Costs of
City-mandated Retrofit

The New Edinburgh Community and Arts Centre (NECTAR), (formerly the
Crichton Cultural Community Centre (CCCC), is currently grappling with a
shortfall of at least $100,000 to complete a major overhaul of its new
location in New Edinburgh House at 255 MacKay Street. The retrofit is
urgently required to bring the building into compliance with rigorous City
and provincial building and fire codes.

Despite the comparatively modest size of the premises at New Edinburgh
House, the City has classified the building in the “large assembly”
category along the lines of such public landmarks as the National Gallery
and the National Arts Centre, and at a total estimated cost of close to
$300,000, the retrofit now poses a major challenge to this small,
non-profit community-based group which is still finding its feet in its
recently purchased headquarters on MacKay Street.

While the Centre has received a significant grant from the Ontario
Trillium Foundation and a generous donation of labour and supplies for the
project from La Cité Collégiale, the $100,000 plus funding gap continues
to loom large and could threaten the future of the feisty little “Centre
that could”.

NECTAR has come a long way since its early days as a one-room operation in
the former Crichton Street Public School over a decade ago. The resilient
little organization weathered a famously rocky relationship with its
former partner in 200 Crichton Street to put down roots as the home of the
Ottawa Lumière Festival, a major regional event attracting thousands to
New Edinburgh’s Stanley Park each summer, and to thrive and develop as a
lively hub for community activity and the arts.

When the Crichton School building was eventually sold to The School of
Dance in 2011, the NECTAR Centre swiftly joined forces with a friendly
neighbour, MacKay United Church, to relocate its operations to the
decommissioned church Manse at 255 MacKay Street, now known as New
Edinburgh House, and to lease the adjacent auditorium in Memorial Hall as
a venue for community and arts programming.

With the help of the proceeds from the sale of 200 Crichton, including a
significant sum from the City based on its original contribution to the
CCCC in 2000, NECTAR was able to complete the purchase of New Edinburgh
House in July 2012, and to forge ahead with plans for expanded arts and
community programming (including a high quality After-School Care program
scheduled to launch in September); the creation of a Community Gallery;
the awarding of multiple Artist-in-Residencies; the installation of a
colourful Community Arts Fence; and preparations for the gala 10th
Anniversary celebrations of the Ottawa Lumière Festival in August.

Faced with the serious threat to its future posed by the financial burden
of the retrofit project, the Centre is actively collaborating with its
community partners, the New Edinburgh Community Alliance (NECA) and the
Crichton Community Council (CCC) to reach out to the community, to the
City and to corporate donors for immediate help in reaching its target of
$100,000 as a basis for proceeding with the retrofit in the course of the
summer.

Much is at stake for both the local community of New Edinburgh and the
wider Ottawa arts community, and much would be lost were the burdensome
costs of city regulations to put an end to the future prospects of this
remarkably tenacious community success story- not least the investment of
thousands of hours of effort, creativity and commitment on the part of
countless volunteers and supporters over the past 13 years.

For more information, or to make a contribution of funds or resources to
the retrofit project at New Edinburgh House, please visit us online at
www.nectarcentre.ca and contact Melanie Davis at
[email protected] 613-745-2742.

For more Information:
Melanie Davis
613-745-2742
[email protected]