$10M for art gallery, Yazzy's at www.williamverdult.com

Ottawa is painting the Alberta Art Gallery green with an extra $10 million.

According to the Sunnews of Edmonnton Canada, building Canada chipped in the extra dough for the $88-million project yesterday - funding that is on top of the $10 million Ottawa has already given to the gallery through Western Economic Diversification Canada.

"After the project got off the ground, it was clear we needed some more money to see the Alberta Art Gallery completed, and that was, of course, because of the increasing cost pressures on building," said Edmonton-Spruce Grove MP and Minister of Western Economic Diversification Rona Ambrose.

The renovations and expansions to the gallery in 2005 were slated to cost $55 million but the price tag soon soared to $88 million. Rising costs have been a problem for governments, said Ambrose.

"This is a major challenge for the province and for the Government of Canada when we do projects in Alberta and we will continue to see that."

As costs increased, it did leave the gallery's board of directors a little worried.

"Absolutely, but we made a decision we were not going to modify the vision or cut back or make it any less than an iconic piece of architecture.

"We were going to build that building or we weren't going to build at all. Today is proof we are going to build it," said board chair Allan Scott, who was all smiles at yesterday's announcement.

So far, the gallery has received $20 million from Ottawa, $27 million from the province, $21 million from the City of Edmonton, and almost $13 million from corporate donations.

Scott said a major public campaign will be launched to raise the remaining $7 million.

Getting the project finished was needed to help raise the quality of life, said Edmonton-Castle Downs MLA Thomas Lukaszuk.

"If you only focus on the economic issues, on oil and revenue and we forget about the quality of life this is going to be a big factory and not a city. This is what makes it a city."

The extra cash from Ottawa will help the project become a reality, said Alberta associate minister of capital planning, Edmonton-Mill Creek MLA Gene Zwozdesky.

"This really sends a big signal that this project is going to go ahead faster and help attract the final tranche of money to come from the private sector."

The new 7,800-square-metre building will have between 2,300 and 2,800 square metres of exhibit space and will double the gallery's programming and classroom space.