City committee recommends $6.5M funding for Winspear Centre to make up for parking revenue loss

Should Edmonton taxpayers give more money to the Winspear? The home of the symphony orchestra says they lost over half a million dollars in parking revenue when the city cut the number of stalls they manage.

As construction moves along on Winspear Centre upgrades — including a new 550 seat performance space and underground parking — City leaders heard through a report that the performance venue’s old surface parking that generated half a million dollars a year will now be losing money with their new underground parking lot, with part of the building being used to house the city’s district energy hub, which will provide renewable heat energy to the Winspear Centre and two nearby buildings.

The City committee is recommending that $6.5 million be allocated to make up the shortfall, but Edmonton’s mayor is assuring taxpayers it won’t lead to increases and will come out of what’s known as the city’s ‘rainy day fund.’

“Likely the projected surplus we have for 2025. And so, not an ideal funding source but it’s the one that wouldn’t impact the tax levy — and we do have a clear repayment plan for our financial stabilization reserve already,” said Mayor Andrew Knack.

Organizers at the Winsepear initially asked for $7.5 million from the City, as councillors considered other options like revenue sharing with other nearby parkades.

Councillor Michael Elliot admitted that while none of the options were great, he told CityNews the Winspear Centre drives economic activity in Edmonton’s downtown.

“I have a lot of time and respect for the Winspear, given what they bring culturally to city and to downtown. So one, I want to be cognizant to the taxpayer of course, and what we have to take care of, and knowing that this situation occurred before I was elected, we’re here now, we have to try to address it,” Elliott explained.

The city says the downtown district energy hub provides heat to the Winspear, Chancery Hall, and Century Place next door. Initially running on natural gas boilers, the energy hub plans to transition to low-carbon energy sources, which may include electric boilers, wastewater heat recovery and geoexchange.

“It gives us the chance to achieve many of our climate change goals but also operational savings over the long-term. So, if done right, enough buildings connect into this, we could see great finical benefits not just for the city, but for those commercial towers that connect in,” said Knack.

City councillors will vote on the $6.5 million during a council meeting later this year.