Rounds of applause, cheers and exclamations of excitement were heard when Centre Culturel La Ronde unveiled the designs for its new building.
The centre shared the designs and an update on the project during a soirée held at Collège Boréal Thursday night.
The theme of the night was Past, Present and Future.
La Ronde is planning to construct a new building on the site of its former facility at the corner of Mountjoy and Algonquin Boulevard. The previous building suffered irreparable damage in a 2015 fire and was demolished in 2017.
Construction of the new centre will start next spring, as soon as the snow melts, said Rick Yallowega of Yallowega Architecture and president of A3 Construction.
The new building is expected to open to the public in early 2023.
The 11,000-square-feet building will have offices, a dance studio, a stage, L’armise bar, a kitchen, a lobby and a parking lot with 10 spots. It will be fully accessible with one floor and a mezzanine for mechanical spaces.
The building will be set away from the street, so the sidewalks are bigger. The builders and architects are also planning to use local trades and suppliers.
“It’s multifunctional spaces, so you’ll be able to do a lot more things than one event,” Yallowega said. “You’re going to have weddings, you’re going to have bingos, recitals, plays, all those kinds of things.”
The major element on the exterior will be a colourful La Ronde signage that will be well-lit during the nighttime. As an architect from Northern Ontario, Yallowega said he finds many buildings lack colours, so La Ronde’s new building will add colour and life to the city.
“We’re doing lots of stuff with the signage and it’s going to be a bit hit for the community. Not just for the French culture and the French community in Northern Ontario, we’re really building on the name La Ronde,” Yallowega said.
Drawing inspiration from the name La Ronde itself, Yallowega said he did a lot of research about the 1969 Montreal’s La Ronde, which was a “place of entertainment” and fun.
“We’re really building on the fun, nature of the building, multiculturalism and the French community,” he said.
The centre received $1 million funding from the province and $2.5 million from the federal government.
Through fundraising efforts and grants, La Ronde has raised about $5.5 million and is short of about $1 million for the project.
The centre’s executive director Lisa Bertrand said she’s honoured to be a part of the project and part of the Timmins history.
“I’m so lucky to have this opportunity, to see the processes. I’m just very honoured to be a part of this project,” she said.
