Conservatory CEO has big plans for Pandora site, including music plaza
As a $250,000 exterior upgrade, including a new ironwork fence, takes shape, CEO Nathan Medd is advocating for a public plaza in front of the Victoria Conservatory of Music
Nathan Medd did not expect that responding to crises on the 900-block of Pandora would be part of his job when he became the head of a music centre and performance venue in Victoria.
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The four-foot-tall fence — which arches up to six or seven feet high at the gate — is part of a $250,000 exterior upgrade to the conservatory that will hopefully bring more shows and more people into the hall.
The 800-seat hall has been running at half-capacity since 2021 because fire regulations stipulate that its Quadra and Pandora exits all have to be accessible when the hall is full, yet they’re often blocked either by tents or city fences put up to keep tents out.
Medd told the Times Colonist it doesn’t make economic sense to use the doors on Pandora — which have to be staffed with front-of-house staff and security — for concerts at Alix Goolden right now.
The lower seating capacity has prompted some promoters to pass on recent opportunities for artists to play there.
Last year, in an op-ed for the Times Colonist, Medd wrote that the “lack of law and bylaw enforcement” on the 900-block of Pandora has cost the conservatory more than $1.5 million in lost revenue and added costs since the hall began running half-full.
The cost of the new fence is estimated to be around $150,000. The goal is to have a design that’s in keeping with the Conservatory’s heritage-status building, he said.
https://www.timescol...-plaza-10105062
Edited by Victoria Watcher, 21 January 2025 - 07:22 AM.