STAR on 54th aims high with loan request

By Cal Braid
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

At the Oct. 15 regular meeting of town council, Dr. Ryan Torrie appeared as a delegation along with his treasurer and secretary to further promote his vision for the STAR on 54th, the Society for Taber Arts and Recreation. Torrie asked council for a project loan of $500,000 and began with an update on the facility’s functional status.

 “We’ve had phase one open, a not-for-profit, YMCA-style gym which is growing steadily. We have over a hundred members and are growing steadily, so that’s bringing in steady income, which is nice,” he said. Several classes, including boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and boot camp are underway at the facility.

 However, the building on 54th Street is still undergoing its multi-phase completion and is proving difficult to bring up to code. 

“It’s quite complicated…very expensive,” he said, describing how the old church was built in three stages, making it difficult to tie together. Torrie said the main hurdle that he’s facing is making the phase two and three upgrade to the HVAC.

 “This is the main reason the church decided they would let the building go. At the time, they had high-pressure steam boilers which were dangerous and hard to maintain. You have to have a nuclear physicist to come down and do inspections,” he joked. “Those were decommissioned and to replace that was going to be something like $2 million.” From there, the church decided they could get by with other buildings and donated that one.

 The design of the building dictates that the HVAC components of phase two and three must be done as one continuous upgrade rather than in phases.

“For the firewall, the sprinkler system, the plumbing, and the HVAC it will be well over a million dollars. We’ve been diligently fundraising,” he said. The Town made a $250,000 donation, the M.D. added another $200,000, the STAR was awarded $500,000 in grant money, and raised $400,000 on their own.

 “It’s difficult to fundraise that in a rapid manner out of our community, and I feel bad actually trying to do that,” he said, seeming a little uncomfortable. “Asking for six or eight hundred thousand from our local community seems like a lot.”

 His goal is to get the STAR fully operational as quickly as possible because that will allow it to apply for more arts and heritage grants as well as open rental spaces that will generate income. The STAR hopes to secure a long-term rental agreement with the school division. Torrie asked council for a half-million dollar loan, offering to include the $2.3 million building as collateral if they wanted it. If granted, the plumbing and HVAC could be completed by mid-winter. He said, “We will rapidly repay the loan, easily within 10 years.”

 The building’s unique setup will allow for a wide variety of activities involving sports, the arts, and community programs. The theatre will be equipped to host movies, plays, speaking engagements, and rehearsals. Torrie hopes the building is complete and ready to open by June 2025.

 Council asked Torrie a number of questions and consulted with CFO John Orwa, who was present at the meeting, about feasibility and interest rates. Ultimately, the matter was pushed forward for further discussions, though council members seemed generally favourable to the cause.