The Royal BC Museum not only has seismic deficiencies, but faces significant flood risk and needs to be replaced immediately, the province’s business case suggests.
On Wednesday, the BC government released the commercial case, a 109-page document with more than 30 drafted, for its proposed $ 789 million replacement for the aging museum. According to the proposed plan, which was announced on May 13, the Royal BC Museum will be demolished and replaced with a new state-of-the-art and seismically safe structure over eight years, which will reopen in 2030.
The document, which is based on countless pages of assessments and reports commissioned by the provincial government since 2018, concludes that the current museum is “beyond its useful life and is seismically unsafe for visitors, staff, collections.” lessons and exhibitions “, and has inadequate collections. storage.
“Significant investment is required to comply with current best practices, to update basic galleries to include inclusive and representative stories of all BC towns, to meet building and accessibility standards, and to protect against environmental degradation.” , says the document.
The business case also includes an assessment by WSP Canada Inc., which states that many of the museum’s buildings are rated right or wrong. He also says that the structural seismic capacity of all museum buildings is 40 percent or less, and the archive building has only a five percent rating.
“Most of the buildings have not undergone any substantial renovations since they were built more than 50 years ago, they pose a serious risk not only to the collections and archives, but also to the more than 800,000 visitors (pre-pandemic) from the museum grounds each. year “, says the business case.
RELATED: BC will spend $ 789 million to replace the Royal BC Museum
The government has allocated $ 550 million for construction and design. An additional $ 239.5 million has been earmarked for project and insurance management, reduction and demolition, exhibition and gallery equipment, equipment and contingency.
Although the government has budgeted $ 789.5 million, it appears that they are betting on receiving external money, probably from donors, to help fund the project.
“Total capital cost of $ 774.2 million with provincial participation [redacted]and the involvement of philanthropy be [redacted]”Says the business case.
BC has been considering options to improve or replace the museum for years, according to government documents. A pamphlet delivered to the media shows that in 2018 BC examined five options: do nothing, build a new museum on a new site, build a new museum on the existing site, “revitalize” the existing museum, and repair the existing museum.
The revitalization, the government claims, was estimated at $ 635.5 million in 2018 and would have taken six years. The document also included a revised estimate for 2022, which shows that the cost of the revitalization would have been $ 979 million. The repair would have cost about $ 1.13 billion in 2022 figures and would have taken seven years.
MORE: Politicians upset by province’s plan to build $ 789 million museum
During a press conference on Wednesday, Melanie Mark, the province’s tourism minister, said the business case is the result of five years of work and shows that it would simply be too expensive to make repairs to the existing structure.
“I understand that this investment involves a lot of money, but we just won’t let this project go,” he said. “We are not willing to take the risk of erasing our culture, our collective from history.”
According to the commercial case, the Royal BC Museum stores seven million exhibits, including the largest collection of works by famous artist Emily Carr, but can only display one percent of its total collection at a time. given due to space limitations.
The government’s plan to spend nearly $ 1 billion on a new museum has provoked harsh criticism from opposition politicians and the general public, many of whom believe the money could be better spent on other needs such as housing crisis, shortage of doctors, opioid crisis. or by public transport.
However, Mark said that the new modern museum will not only protect the history of BC but will benefit all British Colombians and that now is the time for this installation.
Unlike the initial announcement, which featured Prime Minister John Horgan, Wednesday’s press conference featured only Mark, who answered numerous media questions about the reason for the project. He said he realizes that many British Colombians are fighting, but said the new museum is a capital project designed to “protect” the shared history of the province.
“I recognize that $ 789 million may seem like a lot for a capital project. The building is over 6.5 acres, houses seven million of our artifacts, 27 miles of our archives, our shared history. These archives help informing the treaty negotiations, they have helped to inform and have helped with the discovery of the children in Tk’emlúps. There is important work behind the walls of the Royal BC Museum, “said Mark.
MORE: Downtown Victoria business groups are looking at the long-term benefits of rebuilding the museum
When asked why the museum should be prioritized over other projects, such as seismic improvement of schools or hospitals, Mark said the province is doing both.
“That’s more and more,” he said. “We are investing in the Royal BC Museum. We have a duty to protect our shared history, our collective history, but we are also seismically improving schools.”
When asked why the province has not been completely transparent with its plans for the museum over the past five years, Mark said modernization plans had been in previous throne speeches and that Prime Minister John Horgan announced that a new museum would one day be built. He also cited the public participation that took place in 2019 that asked people what a “reimagined” museum should look like and said the May 13 announcement was another form of transparency.
“Presenting the business case on Friday 13th and 13th May is a demonstration of transparency. As soon as we had the approval of the business case, we presented ourselves, “Mark said, adding,” The announcement did not arrive as expected. I want to acknowledge that. “
BC Liberal leader Kevin Falcon has said he would cancel the project if his party ever formed a government.
“The business case released today by the NDP does not justify such out-of-contact spending at a time when British Colombians are facing the highest gas prices in North America, rents and higher housing costs “Never before has food costs skyrocketed, and one in five people does not have access to a family doctor,” Falcon said in a statement.
“It is unacceptable that today’s plan, based on zero public consultation, does not reveal vital information such as value for money analysis, construction cost breakdowns or even the project’s risk matrix.”
OPINION: The decision to build a new $ 789 million museum is out of touch with reality
BC Green MP Adam Olsen, who represents Saanich North and the islands and is indigenous, has called the Horgan government “disconnected” to present this plan.
“While we are grateful to finally see the business case, it has been a public relations disaster. At a time when British Colombians are struggling with an accessibility crisis, the government has chosen to build the most expensive museum ever. built in Canada, “Olsen said in a statement.
“It’s not uncommon for the public response to be overwhelmingly negative. The BC NDP has failed to get people into a process that has been going on for years. They left this announcement on a Friday afternoon without significantly consulting the public. nor do they provide consistent updates. They still have to justify why this project is a priority when people are struggling with rising cost of living and access to basic health services. “
[email protected]
Follow @npescod
Royal BC Museum Modernization – Museum Project Business Case by Nicholas M. Pescod in Scribd
MORE: BC Liberal leader Kevin Falcon pledges to abandon new project at Royal Royal Museum
ROB SHAW: British Columbia Government Criticized for Mysterious Business Case to Justify $ 1 Million Royal BC Museum Project
Editorial policies Report a bug