The longtime home of a grocery store on Johnson Street has been sold for $2.4 million to a Ladysmith-based performing arts organization, with plans for the building to become a hub for arts and culture activity in downtown Victoria.
The Other Guise Theatre Company Society announced Tuesday it has purchased the two-storey building at 716 Johnson St., home to Tomley’s Market since 2011. Matthew Payne, the artistic and executive director of the not-for-profit performing arts society, which is headquartered in Ladysmith, said the long-term plan is for the space to include two small theatre-style spaces, along with two rehearsal studios.
The building will need extensive renovations to reach its full potential, with the required work expected to take up the majority of 2024. A targeted opening of January 2025 is realistic, according to Payne, and could change the arts ecology in downtown Victoria.
“It’s a modest size,” he said. “But the way to go now is develop that building as it is. Down the road, there could be something larger.”
The deal closed Dec. 31, 2022. The purchase was made possible with mortgages on favourable terms from two parties, according to a statement, along with an anonymous donation of $300,000. The primary investor is Kate Kempton, an author and social justice lawyer from Toronto who recently moved to Victoria.
“It’s been my dream to see a gathering place where like-minded people can come together to have meaningful conversations about key social issues,” Kempton said in a statement.
The building’s top floor features several studios that will be rented at affordable rates to emerging and established artists.
“Artists need a home,” Mary Desprez, company manager at Other Guise, said in a statement. “Vancouver Island is lacking in accessible, reliable spaces for artists to gather, work, rehearse, and perform. With this acquisition, Other Guise will create a safe space for artists to do all of these things, becoming a permanent fixture to enliven [downtown] Victoria.”
The vision for the property began when Payne was still in a managerial position with Victoria’s Theatre SKAM, the company he co-founded. Theatre SKAM needed an investor to close the deal, but could not find one in a suitable time frame.
“We took it down the road as far as we could with SKAM, but we could see that it was the thing to do for the ecology. Other Guise was better positioned to take on a venue.”
The Other Guise Theatre Company Society received $100,000 this month as part of the City of Victoria’s Cultural Infrastructure Grant program, and $250,000 from the sa国际传媒 Arts Council’s 2022-23 Arts Infrastructure Program.
The society is also hoping to raise money through public donations. More information on the project will be available tonight during an open house at 716 Johnson St, which will be held from 5 to 7 p.m.
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