Saskatoon art gallery project moves forward

A multi-million-dollar riverbank art gallery in Saskatoon has cleared a key hurdle.

On Monday, city council endorsed the business plan for the Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan — the $84-million planned replacement for the downtown-area Mendel Art Gallery.

The new building will go in the River Landing area.

The plan has created some controversy, however. Since 2009, the project's price tag jumped from $57 million to $84 million.

The city's direct contribution is $21 million, with the remainder coming from Ottawa, the province and private donors.

The business plan says people will continue to be able to enter the gallery for free, but some special events will be paid events.

The gallery is expected to open in 2015.