The planning exercise underway for developing Ogden Point could someday include a waterfront marine exhibit building that would make a shipshape home for B.C. seafaring artifacts now in storage. But that could take as long as 30 years, according to the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority.
In the short term, Maritime Museum of B.C. officials await the outcome of a meeting next week between city and provincial officials with respect to the Bastion Square site where the museum had operated since 1965. The province forced it to leave the 1889 building for safety reasons in 2014 and has operated only a storefront location out of Nootka Square for the past few months.
The meeting will take place on Feb. 17 between Victoria city manager Jason Johnson and provincial officials, said city spokeswoman Katie Hamilton.
In a closed-door meeting on Sept. 17, Victoria council directed Johnson to meet with deputy ministers and assistant deputy ministers in light of the city’s recovery of its signed copy of the 1977 agreement between the province and the city stipulating a mutually agreeable museum location. That stipulation was made in return for the city’s transfer of the heritage courthouse at 28 Bastion Square to the province for $1.
Past museum chairman Clay Evans said there’s a lot of optimism about the future of the museum.
“We’ve just gone through a very rough patch where our very survival was seriously in question. The reality is that we continue to have great community support and a fantastic crew of staff, volunteers and members who really want to see the MMBC find a new home where it can revive and thrive.”
He said that Ogden Point is “essentially a blank slate for new construction, has ample room for buses and parking, is part of the working harbour, and has access to moorage for both large and small vessels. Plus there are the cruise ships.”
Meanwhile, an engineering analysis is underway to assess work needed at 28 Bastion Square, to understand the needs and costs of repairing the building.
The analysis is expected to be completed by the end of April, according to the Ministry of Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services. Following that, the ministry will determine its next steps.
Evans said museum officials “would not rule out going back to that location in a seriously revamped and upgraded building, so we will watch with keen interest.”
Mayor Lisa Helps wrote to Premier Christy Clark last year saying the terms of the Bastion Square transfer “included an ongoing obligation by the province to house the collection of the Maritime Museum of B.C. and to retain the property in public ownership.”
Almost a year of negotiation to get the museum space in the CPR Terminal Building operated by the harbour authority fell through last summer due to a lack of provincial financing, with the space ultimately rented by Riverside Marine, which will operate a foot- passenger ferry to Vancouver.
Because the museum no longer has a home, the harbour authority has doubled space allotted for storage of artifacts in its warehouse at Pier A, said CEO Ian Robertson. As well, the authority is trying to see if safety regulations will allow some of the larger artifacts to be exhibited to cruise ship passengers in the Pier B building, he said.
Two of the museum’s largest artifacts, the boats Tilikum and Trekka, are stored at Ogden Point.
The museum’s board has several newcomers, and its new chairman, Don Prittie, is an experienced hand at maritime and management issues, Evans said. David Leverton, who has an extensive cultural background, has been hired as the new executive director.
“We have been very fortunate to bring onto the board some excellent local experience and talent, which I feel, given the turmoil of the last year, is a very positive indicator of the importance of the MMBC to the city and the region and how people feel about the issue,” Evans said.
