THUNDER BAY — A tentative goal of 2021 for opening the Thunder Bay Art Gallery's new waterfront location now appears well out of reach.
But Sharon Godwin, the TBAG's executive-director, is anxious to dispel any concerns this may cause.
"I don't want any great crisis out there in the community. We're dealing with anything that comes at us in the most appropriate way we can," Godwin said Monday in an interview.
The City of Thunder Bay, which owns the property at the southern end of Prince Arthur's Landing, is still working through the province's environmental assessment process.
Contaminated soil from decades of industrial use requires remediation.
Earlier this month, the city made a second submission to the Ministry of the Environment for a risk assessment of the property.
A city official told Tbnewswatch the revisions to the initial submission required by the ministry are relatively minor.
The new document is under review by ministry staff.
"Then we will know exactly where we are at," said Gerry Broere, the director of the city's assets management division.
Regulations permit four months for a review, but a spokesperson told Tbnewswatch the ministry anticipates getting back to the city sooner than that.
Godwin said she hopes construction will still start sometime next year, with completion in 2022 or 2023.
Despite the fact the length of the environmental assessment "wasn't completely anticipated, there's no question about that" she said, "there are no red flags."
Godwin said she has a new-found respect for any construction project that gets completed because of the myriad of obstacles that can be encountered, adding that "many of them are out of your control."
She acknowledged that the absence of shovels in the ground at the waterfront has led to questions about the status of the project.
"People don't always hear news clips. I still have people saying 'is it a go, is this happening?' " Godwin said.
The last funding announcement to capture headlines was in January of this year when the federal government chipped in $3.5 million.
That brought total funding to almost $30 million out of an estimated project cost of $33 million.
Godwin said a public campaign to raise whatever balance might be required won't begin until construction begins.
