PEIRenovations at the Confederation Centre of the Arts in downtown Charlottetown are well underway, and the centre’s CEO says the work is on schedule and on budget.New facility will include arts academy, innovation hub for Canadian contentThinh Nguyen · CBC News · Posted: Nov 24, 2025 9:37 AM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.The revamped Confederation Centre of the Arts will offer new programming like an arts academy and an arts innovation hub, says CEO Steve Bellamy. (CBC)Renovations at the Confederation Centre of the Arts in downtown Charlottetown are well underway, and the centre’s CEO says the work is on schedule and on budget.Steve Bellamy said the revamped facility will offer something for everyone by this time next year.“It feels incredible for it to be on time, on budget,” Bellamy told CBC News. “We have a year left to go, but honestly, it’s moving along as well as we could have hoped.”The major renovation is taking place in the former library space. The library closed in 2022 after 57 years and moved into a 40,000-square-foot space in the Dominion Building, across Queen Street from the Confederation Centre.A rendering of the new space shows the floor lowered to the level of Richmond Street. (Confederation Centre of the Arts)Bellamy said the reason the project remains on track is because so much of the work is being done by local companies and tradespeople.He added that when visitors walk through the new space next year, one major change they will notice is the entire floor has been lowered to the level of Richmond Street.“We really anticipate a strong connection to Victoria Row and have the centre be a beautiful thoroughfare for people.”Public helped shape centre’s futureBellamy said staff talked to the public and stakeholders, including Indigenous communities, about how the space should be used. Three clear themes came out of those conversations, he said.The first was that the centre’s learning programs could expand, become more inclusive and serve more communities.“We’re going to have what we call an arts academy, which is an expansion of our learning programs.”The second message from the public was that the centre should offer more programming tied to its role as a “national memorial to its founders.”“We’re starting a Canadian Leadership Institute to do more gathering and convening, to talk about important issues in Canada like the Symons Medal, the Charlottetown Forum, and to grow that line of programming in the leadership institute,” he said.Bellamy credits the renovation remaining on time and on budget to the fact that much of the work is being handled by local companies and tradespeople. (Confederation Centre of the Arts)The third message was that the centre could play a stronger role in creating new Canadian content.“We’re excited to announce the Arts Innovation Hub, and that’s really the name we’re putting on some new facilities that will help in that endeavour,” Bellamy said. “It will help us create more new Tell Tale Harbour-type shows and to host more artists in residence so that we can be creating more Canadian stories here.”No pushback from businessesBellamy said Victoria Row, which is usually open to traffic in the winter, is closed. People can still access businesses using the sidewalk.Earlier this year, some business owners on Victoria Row raised concerns about operating next to the construction site.Bellamy said the centre is working to adjust its construction schedule to reduce disruptions during the busy summer season.He said there has been no pushback from businesses on the street since construction resumed, with advanced notice helping to ease the transition and construction teams sticking to scheduled timelines.“We were able to clear the Row earlier than expected in the spring, and we definitely left it clear, I think, a full month longer than originally scheduled in the fall,” he said. “So we’ve been able to stick to those timelines.”With files from Tony Davis
Confederation Centre renovation on schedule, on budget with big changes coming, CEO says
