The transformation project of the Maison de la culture is going well

The project to transform the Maison de la culture is well underway.

The Municipality of the Islands recently submitted a request for financial assistance to the Ministry of Culture and Communications to help defray the cost, estimated at $10.5 million at this time.

According to Mayor Jonathan Lapierre, government grants could cover up to 70% of eligible costs and explains that other options are on the table to reduce the community’s share.

The possibility of an Archipelago-specific Blue Space being deployed in part within the Maison de la culture is also on the table.

Set in motion in 2016, the current draft of the project includes the modernization of the building as well as the addition of an exhibition hall and a multifunctional space.

Consultations with the community on the subject took place in the summer of 2021.

The expansion of the Jean-Lapierre Library is at the heart of the development, said the mayor.

The renovation of the Havre-Aubert and Grande-Entrée service points includes a redevelopment as well as new equipment, at a cost of approximately 2 million dollars of the total project.

According to the municipality’s data, the number of library subscribers has more than doubled in three years, going from 1130 in 2018 to nearly 2600 in 2021.

The library is averaging over 20,000 loans per year, with a collection that has also grown by 40% since 2018.