A decades-old idea to build a brand-new purpose-built concert hall in Vancouver has gained fresh momentum from the efforts of former BC Attorney General Suzanne Anton, who is the chair of the rebooted Vancouver Concert Hall and Theatre Society.
Anton, who was also previously a Vancouver city councillor and currently serves as a director on boards such as the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, announced today a feasibility study will be performed to determine the viability of building a new cultural precinct with multiple performing arts theatres.
This would fill a gap in Vancouver’s venue offerings in terms of both spectator capacity and the calibre of the venue for symphony, opera, ballet, lyrical, and other types of performances.
Such venues would fill the current mid-size gap — venues that are smaller than the City of Vancouver-owned and operated existing major venues of the Orpheum Theatre and Queen Elizabeth Theatre, which each seat about 2,800 spectators.
Anton says the potential vision is to have such a complex featuring a concert hall with about 1,800 seats, an opera/ballet theatre also with approximately 1,800 seats, and a recital hall with roughly 800 to 900 seats.
“It’s clear that there’s a really strong demand for new facilities in Vancouver,” Anton told Daily Hive Urbanized in an interview on Thursday, who stated the study would help identify the potential solutions.
The society has contracted architectural firm Diamond Schmitt to conduct the study over the next nine months. Their work will include creating the business case, identifying potential locations, and performing public consultation.
The firm was previously involved in designing high-profile performing arts venues such as the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto and the La Maison Symphonique de Montreal, and the recently completed redesign of the David Geffen Hall at the Lincoln Centre in New York City.
“For instance, would we consider repurposing the Queen Elizabeth Theatre or would we build a new opera ballet theatre? Let’s find out. You need to be able to establish the demand in order to make a public case for the new facilities, so I’m expecting that they will establish the demand because it’s very clear to me there’s demand,” said Anton.
“They will make the recommendations as to the size of the facilities. Do we build them all at once? Do we phase them over a number of years? All of these things remain to be seen.”
The study will also examine the feasibility of the late Bing Thom’s previous concert hall complex at the old courthouse building site, where the Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is currently located. The VAG is slated to move out of this heritage building at some point in the future, after its new purpose-built building next to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre reaches completion.
Despite beginning preliminary construction and demolition work earlier in 2024, the VAG’s new complex is now delayed due to a 50% cost escalation of the project to $600 million, which has necessitated a pause in construction to enable a redesign to reduce costs and perform further fundraising.
Bing Thom’s vision for transforming the former courthouse building into a concert hall complex after the Vancouver Art Gallery’s relocation. (Revery Architecture)
Bing Thom’s vision for transforming the former courthouse building into a concert hall complex after the Vancouver Art Gallery’s relocation. (Revery Architecture)
Thom’s concept envisioned a 1,950-seat concert hall deep under the VAG’s North Plaza fronting West Georgia Street, which is currently a vast underground space used to store the gallery’s collections. The historic Annex building fronting Robson Street would be turned into a 450-seat multipurpose dance, music, and theatre venue.
Access to both theatres would be through the main historic building, which would be converted into lobby spaces for the theatres, restaurants, boutiques, and other cultural uses. Long escalators with skylights will carry patrons from the lobby area down to the subterranean concert hall.
“We are very pleased to be retained in this important first step for an ambitious project and look forward to working with the many individuals and organizations who are committed to creating new facilities in Vancouver,” said Robb Graham, principal of Diamond Schmitt.
To date, 14 arts and cultural organizations have already expressed their support for the study, including BalletBC, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Opera, DanceHouse, and the Vancouver Recital Society.
While the Orpheum Theatre and Queen Elizabeth Theatre are highly valued assets, they are deemed too big for the regular needs of some of these organizations.
Moreover, the Orpheum Theatre, the home of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, was originally designed as a vaudeville, before its previous four-decade use as a cinema under the Famous Players chain.
The City’s most recent major reinvestment into its Civic Theatres portfolio was the 2009-completed renovation of the 2,800-seat Queen Elizabeth Theatre for $45 million. It was originally constructed in 1959.
The 1927-built Orpheum Theatre is also in need of major upgrades, with City staff recently indicating the complex requires “urgent capital maintenance needs,” including the renewal of the Smithe Street facade, building envelope, and roofing and rooftop mechanical equipment.
The 1962-built Playhouse, which seats about 670 spectators and is attached to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, is deemed to be outdated by its users and in very high demand. It is also owned and operated by the City.
Orpheum Theatre. (Vancouver Civic Theatres)
Queen Elizabeth Theatre. (Vancouver Civic Theatres)
Playhouse. (Vancouver Civic Theatres)
“None of these venues serve the purpose of the arts organizations that try to perform in them,” Leila Getz, the founder and Artistic Director of the Vancouver Recital Society, told Daily Hive Urbanized in an interview. The Vancouver Recital Society uses various local theatres, but the Playhouse serves as its primary venue.
“The acoustics in all these venues here are awful, but that’s only part of the problem,” said Getz, noting that venues like the Playhouse have major accessible design deficiencies for both performers and spectators with disabilities and mobility needs.
“It’s just, it’s dated, it’s dated, dated, dated, and no good for anything. We need a venue for chamber music, and we need a venue which would cover a lot of things. Chamber music, recitals, some of the choirs, then the symphony needs its venue, and then ballet and opera… it can all work out beautifully.”
An example of a “lyric concert hall” with highly optimal acoustical design is the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at the University of British Columbia campus. Designed by Thom, it was built in 1997, and with a capacity of 1,200 spectators, it is also an example of a mid-sized venue.
The $150,000 cost of the study commissioned by the Vancouver Concert Hall and Theatre Society is being funded by a $100,000 arts grant from the City of Vancouver, $50,000 from DanceHouse, and another $50,000 from the Vancouver Recital Society.
The City of Vancouver is also sitting on a decades-old fund dedicated to building a new concert hall. City staff told Daily Hive Urbanized in September 2023 that this fund held within an interest-bearing reserve has increased to nearly $31 million, and it continues to grow with each passing year.
In the early 1990s, Vancouver City Council approved a plan to build a mid-sized “lyric concert hall” with excellent acoustics as its highest cultural facility priority. The so-called Civic Arts Complex, featuring a 1,500-seat concert hall, was to be built on Burrard Landing, but this site was ultimately used to construct the West Building of the Vancouver Convention Centre.
When the municipal government transferred the City-owned property to the provincial government for the construction of the convention centre in 2003, a further cash contribution was secured. These funds were put into an interest-bearing reserve.
During the early stages of the planning process for the convention centre expansion, there was an attempt to co-locate the concert hall with the new convention centre building, with the concert hall situated roughly where Jack Poole Plaza and the Cactus Club restaurant building are built today. However, the co-location concept fell apart due to a variety of reasons, including challenges with fitting the many different convention centre uses on the site and the higher project cost during a time when Olympic-related costs were given greater scrutiny.
“I am thrilled and excited to see the Vancouver Civic Theatres Society kick off this exciting first step in their plan. Developing new performing arts facilities is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the incredible talent we have right here in Vancouver and elevate our city as a global centre for the arts,” said Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim in a statement.
Vancouver City Councillor Peter Meiszner, who is also Vancouver City Council’s representative on the Vancouver Civic Theatres Board, added, “Having recognized the need for new arts facilities in Vancouver for many years, I’m very excited to see this important first step being taken. These new theatres and halls will be transformative for Vancouver’s arts community, and I’m excited about the positive impact they will have on our community.”