It took seven years, but on Nov. 18, 1995, the Shadbolt Centre of the Arts opened in Deer Lake Park.

The Shadbolt turns 15 this month.

Named for Burnaby artist Jack, and art historian and curator Doris, Shadbolt, the centre was the first of its kind in B.C., a "purpose-built multipurpose arts facility," according to the city's assistant director of cultural services, Denis Nokony.

Nokony was instrumental in the planning for the Shadbolt.

"The whole cultural campus, the complex, in a very beautiful setting, is second-to-none," he says.

Hired in October 1988 as the city's arts development officer, Nokony's role was part of the community arts development policy, which also included plans for the Shadbolt.

The city decided to develop the policy after conferring with a group of citizens about the city's future, Nokony says.

"The (arts policy) process confirmed the city's commitment to culture," Nokony says, "promoting the arts as a positive force in the community."

The policy helped direct the building plans for the Shadbolt, Nokony says.

Annie Boulanger, a former reporter for the NOW, and Eileen Kernaghan with the Burnaby Writers' Society were involved in the process, among others.

"It's a real story of community input there," Nokony says.

The current Shadbolt Centre is only phase one of the proposed project. The first phase added 30,000 square feet with the glass, stone and cedar building, which is attached to the original James Cowan Theatre.

The second phase included plans to build a new 450-seat theatre and renovate the James Cowan Theatre, moving the visual arts component of the facility to the theatre from Mathers House.

"The city at this point has not treated it as a priority," Nokony says.

The force behind the centre's award-winning design was Hotson Bakker Architects; in particular architects Joost Bakker and Henry Hawthorn, he adds.

Bakker is now a principal architect at Dialog. Hawthorn has retired since designing the Shadbolt.

The centre won the Canadian Wood Council Award for Merit for its creative design, which includes a large atrium with views of Deer Lake.

The centre was well-designed to be used by its occupant groups, Nokony says, and includes an acoustically treated music facility, sprung wood floors for the dance studio, and a performing arts studio that can be used as a TV studio, with exterior doors wide enough to accommodate a five-tonne truck, he adds. In the performing arts studio, the chairs can also be taken out.

"The planning process was informed by our staff," Nokony says, saying the design is "an enviable model others have used."

The large cost of the project - between $9 and $10 million - made it necessary to run a capital campaign to raise funds, according to Nokony.

"Along the way, the community was challenged to help," he says.

They met the challenge, with corporate donations from Transcontinental Pipelines (now Kinder Morgan) and B.C. Tel (now Telus). Individuals from the arts council also did fundraisers, Nokony says.

"It was the cementing of the relationship between residents and the arts," he adds.

Instead of one big celebration to honour this accomplishment, the Shadbolt is having a season of celebration.