In April of this year, the City of Vancouver and the provincial government announced plans to create a new downtown cultural precinct by committing $5 million each to the early planning and development of such a facility.
Plans for the cultural district will focus on two parcels of land, which will be linked by the West Georgia corridor. The first is the Robson Square complex, while the second includes a two-block area centred around the Queen Elizabeth Theatre and the city-owned, former bus depot site, which is bordered by West Georgia, Beattty, Dunsmuir and Hamilton Streets.
Among the proposals being considered for the culutral precinct are a new location for the Vancouver Art Gallery, a National Gallery of Aboriginal Art, and an Asia-Pacific Museum of Trade and Culture.
Because of the project's scope and ambition, planners expect that it will take 15 or more years to develop the site over a series of phases.
The first phase, which would have to be completed in time for the 2010 Olympics, includes the renovation of the QE Theatre and the creation of a public plaza for an 'Olympic Live Site', where 'cultural displays and performances' will be held during the Games.
For a look at the provincial government's April 2006 press release, click here. A copy of the City of Vancouver's planning agenda from October can be found here (link to pdf).
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