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The City of Calgary has announced $7.5 million towards the development of a new home for the Calgary Opera. The $40 million Calgary Opera Community Arts Centre will be located at the SW corner of 5 St SE and 12 Ave SE, the new state of the art facility to abut the grounds of the Rundle Ruins in Victoria Park.
Helping bring this project to fruition, the Calgary Foundation has donated an additional $1.5 million, and the Calgary Stampede has donated the land - currently a parking lot - to the Calgary Opera. Set against the backdrop of the Rundle Ruins, Saddledome, and the downtown skyline, the new home of the Calgary Opera will tie together the rich history and culture of the city around it.
The Calgary Opera Community Arts Centre will include a 400-seat performance hall, and will function as the administrative base of the organization, in addition to housing ample space for sets, costumes, and rehearsals. The new facility will represent a significant upgrade from its current home, the Mamdani Opera Centre, held within a former United Church in the Beltline, which for years has been stretched to capacity.
Beyond the Calgary Opera, the "Community" aspect of the new development will see the centre made available to numerous other local theatre and performative arts groups, the Community Arts Centre to be a creative space for all. Should fundraising go as planned, the Calgary Opera is anticipating a construction start date of 2020, with a projected completion date of 2021.
SkyriseCalgary will be sure to return to this project as progress continues. For more information, check out the associated Database file and Forum thread, and as always, feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below.
