This article was written by Ahmed Dirie and originally published on January 26, 2022 for Beach Metro News

Scarborough Arts is facing a challenge after flooding caused extensive damage and forced the closure of their Bluffs Gallery building on Kingston Road.

The flooding also damaged furniture and equipment in the Scarborough Arts offices and gallery which are located in a house at 1859 Kingston Rd., just east of Birchmount Road, on grounds of The Harrison Estate.

The flooding was the result of multiple burst pipes caused by a malfunctioning HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) system on Jan. 14, said Scarborough Arts. The building was closed immediately until further notice and current estimates are that it will remain closed for at least eight months and possibly up to a year.

It was area residents who alerted Scarborough Arts last week that there appeared to be an issue with the building.

“We should actually give a really big shout out to the two community members that were out for a walk in our neighbourhood,” said Derek Spooner, Executive Director at Scarborough Arts.

“They saw water pouring out of the building and into the park of our building like a waterfall,” said Spooner. “After coming closer, they realized that the ceiling was capsized.”

The two community members quickly alerted program manager, Emily Peltier, who informed Spooner.

“We owe a lot to the people in the neighbourhood who said, ‘Hey, something’s going on at the building’,” said Spooner. “That’s also a testament to the vibrancy of the local community.”

Scarborough Arts have been operating at their current location since 1978, while the history of their building itself, owned by the City of Toronto, goes back much further.

“It was actually built in 1927 with arts and crafts architecture,” said Spooner. “So it is quite an old building.”

Scarborough Arts offers a variety of programs and provides space for arts and cultural groups to engage in endeavours such as poetry or film making.

“We act as a hub for Scarborough as a place for people to come and create,” said Spooner. “But also out of our offices, we provide many services as well to the local community. In the past, we’ve done things like the Cultural Access Pass, which gives New Canadians an opportunity to access cultural resources, events and institutions all across Canada.”

Spooner, who joined the organization in 2018, was dismayed at the extent of the damage done to the building and much of the material it contained.

“I would estimate that approximately 65 to 75 per cent of the building has been completely damaged,” he said.

Despite being in the early stages of assessing just how much was lost, what is known is that the losses are substantial.