VICTORIA -- A group that has been working to bring a performing arts centre to the West Shore for more than a decade is one step closer to its goal.

The Juan De Fuca Performing Arts Centre Society entered a memorandum of understanding with the City of Colwood this week.

The society will spend the next year sorting out the details of a land lease agreement that could allow the group to build a 350-seat theatre at the site of Colwood’s park-and-ride on Ocean Boulevard, near Sooke Road. 

However, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done before breaking ground. 

“This is something that was identified as a need back in the early 2000s as the West Shore began to grow,” said society president Judith Cullington.

“We all enjoy the wonderful facilities elsewhere in the region but there is very limited opportunity out here.”

The arts centre would create an outlet for amateur and professional theatre groups, musicians and dance companies, along with a residential component.

“It’s a high density, urban development, mixed-use. So we would see a lot different things happening on that site,” Cullington said. 

“Probably a couple of taller towers. Perhaps even one of them including a hotel, perhaps some office space."

If approved, the society would enter a 99-year lease with the city for a nominal fee. The group would then be responsible for building and maintaining the arts centre while managing the property and forming partnerships to bring other developments to the site. 

“The city would be completely hands-off. Where the city would be coming from is providing the land, making sure the park-and-ride spots were available during the day time,” Colwood Mayor Rob Martin said. 

“So that when the theatre is using the parking in the evening, that’s OK because we also have those park-and-ride spots that would be available during the day for transit users.”

Once the group gets approval, the hard work begins. 

“We’re probably going to need to do some serious fundraising somewhere in the order of $15 and $30 million to get there,” Cullington said. 

“But part of the magic of this is that the way we have proposed it is very much enabling us to do an arts centre without reliance on municipal tax dollars.”

It's an arrangement the municipal government is apparently happy with. 

“What they were trying to do was build a business model that would allow them to build a theatre, but then to have commercial space offsetting the cost to that theatre, so it creates a win-win for us,” Maryin said.

While the municipality already has large parks and recreation facilities, Martin acknowledged Colwood is lacking in the arts and says he’s excited about the proposal.