Province moving ahead with $205M Royal B.C. Museum building in Colwood

A rendering of the Royal BC Museum collections and research building in Colwood, B.C., is pictured. Feb. 23, 2023. (Province of B.C./Flickr)

Work will soon begin on a roughly $205-million Royal B.C. Museum collections and research building (CRB) in Colwood, B.C.

The province has long planned to build the CRB to help store and display some of the museum's many artifacts, and to create new research facilities.

The province says it has awarded Langley, B.C.-based Maple Reinders Constructors Ltd. with the $204.8 million contract to design and build the collections and research building.

The new facility will measure 15,200 square metres, or 163,611 square feet, and will be made out of mass timber. It will also include research labs and learning spaces and the BC Archives.

The province says the building is sorely needed, especially since the museum's current storage area is at risk of flooding, which could impact archival books, watercolours dating back from the 1700s, and early provincial maps.

The province adds that only one per cent of the museum's collections are on display, and that the new CRB will allow the public to view more of the museum's artifacts.

"Alongside the safe and modern storage of the collections and provincial records, the CRB will be a dynamic and welcoming community space," said Royal B.C. Museum CEO Alicia Dubois in a release Thursday.

"We hope to inspire future paleontologists, entomologists, botanists and historians through greater learning opportunities by enhancing public access to our work," she said.

(Province of B.C. / Flickr)The entire capital project cost for the building is $270 million, an increase of about $45.6 million from the most recent estimate in June 2021.

The increased price tag is due to rising construction costs and supply chain challenges, according to the province.

Construction is expected to start this summer and the building is scheduled to open in summer 2026.

The province estimates that construction will also fund 1,000 direct and indirect jobs.