Peterborough Blogs
Canadian Canoe Museum to Unveil Plans For New Building
/The Canadian Canoe Museum will host a virtual meeting to reveal details of its new building on Wednesday.
Photo Courtesy of Canadian Canoe Museum.
The meeting is through Zoom on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. It will reveal the architectural renderings of the proposed new building to be built at the Johnson property located at 2077 Ashburnham Drive near Beavermead Park in Peterborough.
The meeting is part of the necessary rezoning process for the new location. It will feature a short presentation followed by a question and answer session.
Participants are asked to register their attendance at their official website.
“We are thrilled to have advanced our project to this key milestone so early in the year,” said Carolyn Hyslop, Canoe Museum executive director in the press release. “Our new museum design and stewardship approach takes full advantage of its on-water location and nestles seamlessly into the natural surrounding area of the Johnson Property.”
A progress update and design was something the project team was eager to share added Hyslop.
City Council approved the direction to proceed with the sale of the land in January subject to a number of conditions including rezoning as stated in the press release.
Project validation and confirmation of site appropriateness are among the additional conditions that must be met to close the deal.
CCM will pay over $1.5 million for the five acres of land expected to be done this summer.
The project is moving forward at advanced speed to achieve its goal of being shovel-ready come fall of this year confirmed Hyslop.
She reinforced CCM’s gratitude for new donors, in addition to the strong continued support of its existing donors, funders and the local community. Their fundraising campaign seeks to raise up to $10 million to fund the full project.
“CCM is motivated by our expedited project plan and our achievements to date,” said Hyslop.
A replay of the public meeting will be available starting May 3.
Written commentaries can be submitted to the CCM by email.
Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.
Canadian Canoe Museum Confirms Viability Of Johnson Park On Shores Of Little Lake For New Museum Build
/The Canadian Canoe Museum has announced that Johnson Park, the City-owned property situated on Little Lake—north of Beavermead Park and south of the Parks Canada-Trent Severn Waterway head offices—has been deemed viable for the building of its new canoe museum.
Photo of 2077 Ashburnham Drive site by Evan Holt
This confirmation clears the way for moving to the next phase of feasibility activities and determining next steps with the City of Peterborough.
“We are thrilled that recently concluded due diligence explorations, environmental assessments, testing and feasibility studies have substantiated the Johnson Park location as a viable site for the building of the new world-class canoe museum,” says Carolyn Hyslop, executive director, The Canadian Canoe Museum.
Land image graphic courtesy Canadian Canoe Museum
“The museum will now enter the next phase of feasibility and validation activities,” adds Hyslop. “This process will help us fine tune budget and overall costs, design and the project schedule with a view to being shovel-ready by the end of 2021.”
Leading with environmental stewardship in mind, the new museum will be built on a flat portion of the property, away from the floodplain, on the open land along Ashburnham Drive. This will preserve the existing trail, shoreline and natural waterfront.
To assist CCM with the realization of a new creative vision suitable to a fresh waterfront site, the new museum will be designed by local, award-winning Lett Architects Inc. With experience in completing cultural projects for nationally recognized institutions, Lett will bring a strong collaborative and engaging approach to the project.
Photo of 2077 Ashburnham Drive site by Evan Holt
“In a year that has brought every manner of exceptional challenges to us all, we are delighted to close out 2020 with positive and hopeful news,” adds Hsylop. “Having found a viable site for this extraordinary project that will see the new museum situated on the shores of Peterborough’s Little Lake—what a terrific kick off to 2021!”
Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.
Canadian Canoe Museum Identifies Johnson Park As Preferred New Build Site
/
Photo of 2077 Ashburnham Drive site by Evan Holt
The Canadian Canoe Museum (CCM) has announced that it has identified Johnson Park, the City-owned property at 2077 Ashburnham Drive in Peterborough, as the preferred site for the building of its new canoe museum.
Johnson Park is situated on Little Lake, north of Beavermead Park and south of the Parks Canada-Trent Severn Waterway head offices. As part of the overall due diligence exploration and feasibility studies, environmental assessment and testing is scheduled to soon take place on the property, with test results expected to be available by the end of the year.
“The Canadian Canoe Museum is extremely hopeful that the Johnson Park location will emerge as a viable site for the new museum build project,” says Carolyn Hyslop, executive director, The Canadian Canoe Museum. “We are bolstered by the support of the City of Peterborough and the Otonabee Region Conservation Authority (ORCA) who are involved in the feasibility exploration.”
Photo of 2077 Ashburnham Drive site by Evan Holt
Since May of this year, CCM has been engaged in a proactive site selection process, reviewing multiple alternative sites throughout Peterborough’s waterfront in order to identify a new site where it will construct its museum.
The museum’s board of directors struck a Pivot Task Force to manage the project who in turn enlisted the help of XBMC Consulting and Lett Architects Inc to lead the Site Feasibility Study.
Notwithstanding the pandemic operating environment, the new build is expected to be shovel-ready by the end of 2021.
Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.
Canadian Canoe Museum Terminates Lease With Parks Canada, Search For New Museum Site Begins
/A search for a new museum has begun as the Canadian Canoe Museum has announced today it has terminated its lease agreement with Parks Canada for the land located alongside the Peterborough Lift Lock on the Trent-Severn Waterway at 353 Hunter Street East, the place where the new canoe museum was to be built.
As announced in May of this year, this location, owned by Parks Canada, was found to contain an industrial solvent, the chemical compound trichloroethylene (TCE) in addition to a variety of other chemicals. This, together with the costs associated with clearing the contamination, the resulting unavoidable project delays and inevitable rising costs have rendered the site no longer viable for the new museum build.
“The Canadian Canoe Museum and Parks Canada have worked together to reach an amicable dissolution to the Lift Lock lease agreement at no additional punitive cost to the museum,” says Carolyn Hyslop, executive director, The Canadian Canoe Museum, in a media release.
Rendering of where location was going to be.
The museum is now is engaged in a proactive site selection process and is reviewing multiple alternative sites, located in Peterborough, to determine where it will construct its new museum. Feasibility studies and environmental assessments will be conducted before selecting the new site for the building of a new canoe museum. The project is expected to be shovel-ready by the end of 2021.
“CCM is profoundly grateful to those who have supported our original build project,” says Hyslop. “We had a beautiful, award-winning design that was perfectly suited for the Lift Lock location that is regretfully utterly non-transferable to another location.
“The Canadian Canoe Museum looks forward to delivering on the commitments to its current donors and funding partners who have expressed continued strong support for the new project to come as it creates a vibrant cultural attraction that welcomes visitors to walk into the museum through the front door and paddle out the back door,” adds Hyslop.
Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.
The Canadian Canoe Museum Is Reopening July 25th
/The Canadian Canoe Museum has announced it is reopening its galleries to the public starting this Saturday, July 25th. Work has been underway to implement new safety protocols while ensuring the museum’s engaging, welcoming, and inspiring atmosphere remains.
“When visitors walk through our doors, they will still be greeted by our stunning array of canoes and kayaks, the rushing waterfall, and sounds of nature—just as they have always been, although they will notice the new protocols we have put in place to help keep our community safe,” says Carolyn Hyslop, Executive Director.
NEW PROTOCOLS AT THE MUSEUM INCLUDE:
Requiring all visitors, volunteers, and staff to wear a face mask or covering in the museum’s galleries and store.
Requiring hand sanitization upon entrance to the museum and promoting sanitization throughout your visit with newly installed hand sanitization stations.
Limiting visitor capacity and staggering entrances to the galleries to promote physical distancing.
Implementing a defined route through the museum’s galleries with reminders to keep your distance from other visitors.
Encouraging contactless forms of payment at the admissions desk and store. Cash will not be accepted.
An enhanced and increased cleaning schedule.
Changes have also been made to the museum's hours of operation. The museum will be open on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. until further notice.
Recognizing that not everyone will be able to or feel comfortable returning to public places at this time, the museum is continuing to provide engaging virtual CCM From Home content online here.
At this time, all additional events, programs, and workshops remain cancelled for the remainder of summer 2020.
Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.
The Future Canadian Canoe Museum Build Impacted By Environmental Contamination
/The Canadian Canoe Museum (CCM) has announced that the results of its own independent investigations confirm that the designated site for the future building of the new Canadian Canoe Museum has been found to contain an industrial solvent, the chemical compound trichloroethylene (TCE).
The ground water at 353 Hunter Street East, owned by Parks Canada, is believed to have been contaminated by chemicals seeping from an adjacent property. The 83,400 square-foot facility museum was to be located alongside the Peterborough Lift Lock on the Trent-Severn Waterway.
“All of us at the Canoe Museum, our project partners and supporters, are highly concerned and extremely disappointed by the situation,” says Carolyn Hyslop, executive director, The Canadian Canoe Museum, in a media release.
The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) this week issued a Provincial Officers Order, under the Environmental Protection Act (EPA), to the owner at an adjacent property directing it to undertake air quality, ground water and additional onsite investigations and to provide associating remediation plans.
“We are working with all parties including the MECP, Parks Canada and our community and funding partners to evaluate the overall impacts of these findings to our operations and our new museum build,” adds Hyslop.
“While the full implications of this environmental interruption are not yet fully known, we are fully committed to building a new world-class museum that will deliver on its vision and serve the needs of its patrons and local community while honouring and preserving this unique cultural asset of national significance.”
A Canadian Canoe Museum representative tells PTBOCanada in an email that they are “evaluating the situation to understand the full impacts to its operations and future new museum build, and further announcements will be made once a direction has been determined.”
[UPDATE: The Canoe Museum representative clarifies to us in a subsequent email that “testing was undertaken as part of the regular environmental assessments required for any build project. The museum relied on experts and consultants to do this testing and to provide the necessary reporting. The results reported today are the outcome of recent independent testing undertaken by the museum confirming the presence of the industrial solvent.”]
Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.
BMO Financial Group Announces $650,000 Gift To Support New Canadian Canoe Museum
/BMO Financial Group has announced a $650,000 investment in The Canadian Canoe Museum’s new 85,000 square-foot-facility at the water’s edge.
This generous gift is the $65 million capital campaign’s first from a financial institution and in recognition, the new museum’s archives and archives workroom will be named the BMO Financial Group Research and Knowledge Centre.
To be built alongside the Peterborough Lift Lock on the Trent-Severn Waterway, the new museum will feature a dedicated space for the organization’s growing collection of rare books, maps and archival materials, as well as film, video and recorded oral histories.
This space, which doesn’t exist in the current museum, will be built to a Class A controlled environment standard that is designed for the materials it will house. Guests using this space will be surrounded by a unique reference library with access to individual study spaces and large work surfaces, along with a comfortable environment for knowledge sharing and the digital documentation of new stories.
”BMO is proud to support The Canadian Canoe Museum,” says Sheri Griffiths, Regional President, Business Banking, Greater Ontario Division, BMO Bank of Montreal. “The new BMO Financial Group Research and Knowledge Centre will offer a unique opportunity for visitors to connect with—and gain a deeper understanding of our country’s history.”
The new museum has been designed by the award-winning team of heneghan peng (Dublin, Ireland) and Kearns Mancini Architects (Toronto, Canada). The building, purpose-built for the world’s largest collection of canoes, kayaks and paddled watercraft, will blend almost seamlessly into its landscape, emerging from the drumlin and complementing the waterway.
“The Research and Knowledge Centre is an integral space in the new museum—one that will offer opportunities to learn and collaborate that right now, we can only imagine,” says Carolyn Hyslop, Executive Director. “The Centre will be an inclusive and safe space for First Peoples, Métis and Inuit, Indigenous Knowledge Holders, and academics to share, encourage understanding and conduct cultural and ceremonial practices.”
Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here. Watch our PTBOCanada Love video here.
Canadian Canoe Museum’s Capital Campaign Receives $500,000 Gift From Toronto-Based Philanthropists George & Kathy Dembroski
/The Canadian Canoe Museum has announced that George and Kathy Dembroski have made a $500,000 commitment to the museum’s $65 million capital campaign, supporting the construction of its new 85,000 square-foot facility at the water’s edge on the Trent-Severn Waterway.
The Dembroskis are friends of the museum, and have a connection to the area through their cottage on nearby Stony Lake in the Kawarthas. These Toronto-based philanthropists are strongly supportive of the plans for the new museum and are eager to see it built alongside the Peterborough Lift Lock.
Kathy and George Dembroski (photo courtesy Canadian Canoe Museum)
The museum’s 9,700 square foot outdoor terrace, which runs alongside the east side of the building, will be named in recognition of their generous gift.
Here is a conceptual rendering of the terrace…
Rendering of terrace (courtesy Canadian Canoe Museum)
