Like a grand dame that over time had started to drag and sag, the Arden Theatre hall was sorely in need of a renovation. And St. Albert theatre buffs will have plenty of reason to cheer with the auditorium’s new facelift.
The curvilinear Douglas Cardinal design is a designated heritage site with restrictions to changing the shell. Many of the restrictions do not apply to remodelling the 3,800-square-foot concert hall’s interior.
When the Arden debuts its spiffed-up look at the Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts Gala on Friday, Sept. 30, it will reveal fully replaced seats with armrests and aisle lighting, completely new carpet on the stairs, under the seats and throughout the hall, and an up-to-the-minute soundboard.
“First and foremost was the comfort of the patrons,” says City of St. Albert director of cultural services Kelly Jerrott. “The whole project was a big deal. We wanted to do it right.”
And that meant developing a fashionable look with a practical, positive approach that also covered environmental sustainability and recycling.
The original seats were installed in 1984 and the upholstery was refurbished at the mid-point. However, wear and tear on fabric, missing pins from armrests and broken hinges were factors in planning a complete overhaul. “It was getting hard to find broken parts.”
After the Arden’s doors were closed to the public on June 23, workers began ripping out the original seats that were bolted and set in concrete. The original seats lacked aisle lighting. However, a decision to add LED low voltage aisle lighting for greater visibility and safety meant that the job became more extensive, with concrete cutting and providing electrical wiring.
“As with any construction project, there were small delays, but we planned for it in the control contract,” says City of St. Albert project manager Adam Mitchell.
The 513 knockout seats are designed in a contemporary style that oozes elegance with a hint of sass. In checking out different sample seats with high-end fabrics, durability, texture, comfort and aesthetics were taken into consideration.
“We also looked at the busy traffic flow of audiences ranging from toddlers to seniors. We wanted something that would stand the test of time. We chose something with a 25-year life cycle that may need a midterm refurbishing,” Mitchell adds.
The Arden operates more than 200 days of the year and accommodates anywhere from 68,000 to 70,000 patrons annually.
In the planning stages, organizers decided to “repurpose” the seats if possible. “We didn’t want them to go to a landfill.”
But it would have cost the city anywhere from $6,000 to $8,000 to dispose them at a landfill or about $10,000 to break the seats down for recycling.
In the end, the original seats were given to Grandin Theatres and a few have been kept for archival purposes to be used in future exhibits. “For us, it was a big deal to find another home,” Mitchell said.
The old carpeting was stripped and in its place a colourfast synthetic fabric that is stain and water resistant was chosen. “It meets all the environmental requirements under green standards. It’s mostly in the manufacturing. There’s low VOC [volatile organic compounds] with a percentage of recycled material and it’s recyclable at the end.”
Previous upgrades included refurbishing the seats, renovating the washrooms, installing a new light console and additional technical equipment.
This year, a new sound console was also added. Jerrott explains, “They only have a certain lifespan and there have been technical changes in the last few years. We have a lot of travelling shows that come in and we need to keep up. Our previous console lived its life and it was time for a new one.”
The tab for this project is $600,000, with $300,000 in funding contributed by Canadian Heritage.
Mitchell closes by saying, “We chose a contemporary character that will stay true to the nature of the room — clean lines and a modern colour scheme. This project is going to take the Arden into its 28th season. It is a well-designed and tasteful update to a community anchor.”
