The vacant city block bounded by Dunsmuir, Cambie, Georgia, and Beatty streets is large enough for both a new Vancouver Art Gallery and a new 1,800-seat concert hall, according to Ron Stern, chair of the Vancouver Concert Hall and Theatre Society.

Stern was interviewed by phone today (March 5) after the VAG revealed that it hopes to transfer from its current location to the former bus depot, a block-size property owned by the City of Vancouver.

Stern told the Straight that his group has done a great deal of work with both the city and provincial government regarding the development of a concert hall on that site, which is at 150 Dunsmuir Street.

“A lot of people are absolutely convinced that when the time is right, we want to have a proper concert hall in a new complex. And that would be an ideal site to build it on, beside the Queen Elizabeth Theatre,” Stern said.

However, the chair of the VAG’s relocation committee, Michael Audain, told the Straight today that the art gallery has asked the city for “exclusive use of the block”.

In an interview at the VAG, Audain added that he doesn’t believe a new art gallery and a new concert hall can both fit comfortably on the site.

“We would end up with a very compromised site for the Vancouver Art Gallery,” Audain said.

Audain said that Stern is aware of the VAG’s view. “We’re dead set on obtaining the exclusive use of that block,” Audain declared.

Stern, a former chair of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, heads an investment firm that holds a controlling stake in the Winnipeg Free Press as well as investments in a newsprint mill, a paper mill, and retail, technology, real estate, and distribution companies.

Audain, a major patron of the visual arts, is the chairman of Polygon Homes Ltd., which has built more than 18,000 housing units since it was created in 1980.

Stern explained that while the Orpheum is a good venue, it wasn’t designed for that specific purpose.

“It was built originally as vaudeville house. It then became a movie theatre, and now it’s used for music,” he said. “It’s pretty good but a real concert hall would be a lot better, and people have been working through many years to develop a new major hall. We’re talking about one of 1,800 seats—in that order of size—and a smaller theatre as well to have built in the city.”

Stern also indicated that there were previous discussions among different stakeholders about using 150 Dunsmuir Street for various art-related purposes. He noted that his group is willing to share the property with the art gallery.

“We don’t require the whole block, and the city who owns the block would have to decide the best use for that block is,” he said.

Asked about the prospect of being elbowed out by the gallery, Stern said: “We’re hopeful that the city will recognize that there’s a balance of what’s needed. We’re convinced that, with all due respect to the gallery, that site is large enough to accommodate”¦both complexes, both the art gallery and the concert hall.”

With files from Charlie Smith