Centre Culturel LaRonde has had to trim back on its plan for a new building, due to rising costs as a result mostly of COVID-19.
The Francophone cultural group has unveiled the newer plan that still has most of the features it hoped for. The biggest difference is that it will be 11,000 sq. feet, instead of 13,000.
An excited executive director Lisa Bertrand says LaRonde is closer to its dream. It all began when the original building had to be torn down after a fire in 2015.
“I’m very happy that we are announcing that these plans are out and we are definitely putting the shovel to the ground as soon as that snow melts,” she says.
Fundraising is ongoing.
“Our building is $6.5-million,” Bertrand explains. “We have 5.7 in the bank. That’s with government grants and previous fundraisers and money from insurance and things like that.”
Bertrand says the new home will again give the francophone community a gathering place, allowing it to promote its culture from the heart of the city.