Tartu's Siuru cultural center to cost €5 million more
The city of Tartu is now allocating an additional €5 million from its own budget to refurbish the planned downtown cultural hub, despite a cap of €92 million having already been applied.
The additional €5 million is to be spent on outdoor areas adjacent to the center, called Siuru, on the side towards the Emajõgi River.
"From the standpoint of the budget strategy, it is €97 million, but it consists of two parts. One is linked to the Cultural Endowment agreement, and the other is the city's own contributions to making the necessary changes in the urban space. So, altogether €92 million plus €5 million," Tartu Mayor Urmas Klaas (Reform) told "Aktuaalne Kaamera."
The tender to actually build the center is due at the end of next year; if this does not meet the expected price then, according to Siuru project head Aavo Kokk, costs will have to be cut and a new tender round held. This would, in turn, Kokk said, mean setting the project back at least 18 months.
"My advice is that reducing the scope should be the very last thing politicians consider. If the economic situation is unfavorable, we might need to find five percent savings somewhere in the costs. We would target materials, not functionality, because our plan is to build the house as we intended," said Kokk.
The recent local elections saw Isamaa make gains relative to the Reform Party, which had long been dominant in Estonia's second city. Both parties have 15 mandates on the 49-seat council, but as things stand are negotiating forming a coalition which would retain Klaas as mayor.
Kaspar Kokk, head of Isamaa's Tartu chapter, said that cuts would mean a reduction in the size of the project, not on the quality of materials used.
"It's certainly possible to optimize the construction price, but if using alternative materials means compromising on quality, we definitely don't support that. If the construction price still significantly exceeds the agreed limit, then the scope must be reduced, not the quality," Kaspar Kokk said.
On the other hand, Mayor Klaas said the additional five million question could be revisited if need be.
"If an economic situation arises where we can't get the expected price at the tender, it will also be possible to postpone the redesign of the surrounding public space — that is, to review the city's five million portion, because a phased approach is possible," Klaas added.
The consensus is that no cuts can be made to Siuru's core functions — the city library and the art museum, while enough rental space for Siuru to remain self-sustaining is also seen as essential, to avoid the center continuing to cost the city once up and running.
"To be self-financing, it needs halls, rental areas, and a parking lot. If those start to be cut, revenues will fall, meaning the city would have to start providing annual operating subsidies in the future," Aavo Kokk said.
The Siuru center construction is due to begin in 2027, and is scheduled for completion in 2030.
When it was placed on the state list of nationally important objects in 2204, the cost of completing the Siuru project was estimated at €73.7 million. The €92 million figure was announced early on this year, to reflect rising input cost prices. Mayor Klaas said at the time that this was the maximum it could reach.
The Downtown (Südalinna) Cultural Center is to be named Siuru after being chosen by a jury from 280 competition entries from members of the public.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Mari Peegel
Source: 'Aktuaalne kaamera'
