Five proposals considered for destination centre, which is expected to be major draw

A 40-storey observation tower, children's museum and interactive performing arts centre are among five proposals a city committee is considering to become River Landing's key attraction.

The destination centre will wrap around the west and south sides of Persephone Theatre and is expected to be a major visitor draw.

Nick Hartle, owner of the Odeon Events Centre on Second Avenue, is proposing the Sky Tower through his company Sitina Enterprises Inc. An elevator would take visitors to the top for the highest view of the city.

Hartle could only be reached for a brief comment by e-mail, but he said the "spectacular" tower would rise more than 40 storeys and include a rotating 80-person gondola observation deck.

Special zoning for River Landing wouldn't allow a building that high, but it's flexible for landmarks with less mass, said Susan Lamb, CEO of Meewasin Valley Authority. There could be another complicating factor for the Sky Tower, however. Structures are limited by the city to roughly 25 storeys downtown because its airspace is part of the flight path.

Three proponents for the destination centre are working together. The children's museum, performing arts "creativity centre" and a showcase of student innovation pitched by University of Saskatchewan, would be a logical combination of interactivity and education, said Tourism Saskatoon CEO Todd Brandt, who's proposing the creativity centre.

The other proposal, from the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre, is for a keeping house of First Nations art and artifacts.

The idea for a children's museum has been around since at least the 1980s, but the group proposing it this time is armed with a business plan, more than 100 paid members and results of surveys and focus groups showing demand for it. It would complement the mostly grown-up attractions already existing or planned for River Landing, said Danielle Chartier, vice-president of Children's Discovery Museum on the Saskatchewan.

"It would bring families downtown outside of retail and office hours," Chartier said, bouncing her daughter on her knee. "Having something to do with your family on those cold dark days of winter would be great."

Exhibits at a Saskatoon museum may include a grain elevator children can climb in and exhibits themed around the Traffic Bridge, a grocery store and potash mine.

The children's museum will open in temporary space in Market Mall in January, but River Landing would be the best location in the city, said museum president Erica Bird. The Manitoba Children's Museum is a key part of Winnipeg's main riverfront gathering place, The Forks, Bird said.

"We've always wanted a space this accessible, this central," she said.

Tourism Saskatoon's proposal for a creativity centre would build on the city's strengths, Brandt said. It would feature interactive exhibits highlighting creative people from the arts and sciences.

"Saskatoon is (known as) a creative city," he said by phone on his way back from Seattle, where he visited a museum that's one of the models for Tourism Saskatoon's proposal. "The idea is to bring that into a focus and develop that as a major attraction for River Landing."

Seattle's Experience Music Project Live, which Brandt visited Monday, is a museum dedicated to creativity in popular music. It includes music memorabilia, taped interviews with artists and interactive features such as a booth that allows a visitor to play with a sound board and change a popular song.

"It's educational, but it was a lot of fun as well," Brandt said.

A virtual stage lets kids perform songs in front of a virtual audience.

"To them, it looked like they were performing in front of a packed audience of screaming teenagers," Brandt said. "Their music was awful, but that's not the point. They were exploring and getting a feel for what it would be like to be creative in the music industry."

Heather Magotiaux, U of S vice-president of advancement, released a statement saying the university is interested in partnering with other destination centre groups.

"We think this project is great for Saskatoon and very much hope to be part of it, but firm details are not yet available," she said.

Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre president Dorothy Myo couldn't be reached for comment about the keeping house proposal.

The city-owned destination centre will be up to four storeys tall, with 20,325 square metres of space. Its lobby will double as a warm-up area for visitors to River Landing, with lots of glass on the south side facing the river. Beyond those parameters, the city hasn't begun a design, said Sandi Schultz, chair of the steering committee.

The steering committee has seen the proposals once and has invited the groups to make presentations later this month. After that, the committee will decide whether to proceed with one or more (or none) of the proposals. The tentative plan for the destination centre will go to the public for feedback early in the new year, with a report to council by spring.

All of this carries a sense of deja-vu. In 2005, council backed a plan to build a spaceship-looking destination complex including an observation tower, Meewasin Valley Authority centre, tourist visitor hub and Joni Mitchell creativity centre. The children's museum had been proposed then too, but was rejected. The city later put the whole project on hold.

THE FIVE PROPOSALS:

- Children's Museum: A 7,000-square-foot facility, expanding to 12,500 square feet after five years. It would house six to 12 hands-on exhibits, attracting up to 60,000 visitors per year.

The museum would require a $4-million capital campaign and run on a $650,000 budget. It would be open seven days a week and at least one evening. The children's museum is already incorporated as a non-profit organization, has a board, more than 100 paid members and $25,000 worth of surveys and focus groups behind it. See www.museumforkids.ca.

- Creativity Centre: A centre focused on the performing arts and emphasizing interaction and creativity. Tourism Saskatoon is developing a business plan for its proposal. Check www.empsfm.org to see a similar music museum in Seattle.

- Innovation showcase: U of S is interested in partnering with the museum and creativity centre in one connected space. The university is looking at showcasing the innovative projects students create, such as components for the space elevator, for example.

- Sky Tower: Odeon Events Centre owner Nick Hartle is proposing a tower more than 40 stories tall with an elevator to take visitors to the city's best photo location.

- Keeping house: The Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre wants space to display First Nations art and artifacts.