About 175 people attended an open house unveiling millions of dollars' worth of infrastructure designed to make the city's riverfront an arts and cultural mecca.

The open house ran from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Gold Rush Inn. The event saw the unveiling of blueprints for the Yukon Arts and Heritage Village riverfront development.

The proposed development area is bordered by First Avenue and the Yukon River and runs between Main and Strickland Streets.

City planning manager Lesley Cabott said the proposal seemed to be well-received by the visitors.

The plans represent a major component of the riverfront development that has been taking place in the city over the last six to eight years, she said.

'We started on the waterfront in 1998 doing a planning study,' Cabott said. The development of Shipyards Park and downtown trails represents much of the work done this far, she noted.

Cabott said council will vote on the plans within the next few months with the initial infrastructure work slated to start this year.

'We're looking at detailed designs of the buildings in 2006 with work beginning in 2007,' she said.

The plans, according to architect Steve Cohlmeyer, would make Whitehorse's waterfront vibrant while paying tribute to Yukon history.

Cohlmeyer was speaking on behalf of Cohlmeyer Architects Ltd., a Winnipeg firm hired to come up with a waterfront development plan.

Cohlmeyer said the plan makes use of three existing buildings the trolley Roundhouse, the White Pass Depot and the Old Fire Hall with four new structures and a wharf area also planned.

'In addition to (the existing buildings), there are four buildings which imitate the original location of the three warehouse buildings that were there from the turn of the century to about 1957,' he said.

The buildings are largely transparent, which means you can look through them and see the river from First Avenue.

The structures would provide the areas for music, dance, theatre, commercial stores and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Cohlmeyer said.

'Eighty per cent of this whole zone is for arts and culture,' he added.

The MacBride Museum would also have a space in the development with the possibility of placing historical artifacts throughout many of the buildings, he said.

'We can use the whole site as a museum. A lot of (artifacts) are really robust enough to be in the buildings and some of them are robust enough to be outside.'

The Fireweed Market may also have an open-air venue a short distance from the development, he added.

The development plans, released to the public Thursday, identify main and alternate building options and their associated costs.

Capital costs for the main village project plan include an estimated $16.9 million for building development; $2.3 million for wharf development; and $3 million for landscaping and public space development in the areas around the village.

'Building costs are anticipated to be provided by the YTG, with possible support from Canadian Heritage Cultural Spaces Canada for the theatre portion of the project,' the report states.

'Wharf and landscape costs are expected to be funded under the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund; the estimated amounts identified are not presently fully allocated under approved Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund A' List.

'Landscape and public area development will be carried out under the management of the City of Whitehorse. Reconstruction of services and above grade landscaping of First Avenue will also be undertaken by the City of Whitehorse for $6 million in 2006.'

Broken down, the development is expected to create 50,000 square feet of public space with 40,000 square feet identified as arts programming space, 8,000 square feet identified as commercial space and 2,000 square feet identified as space for utility services.

The development plan also identified several management options, including an arm's-length management board drawn from stakeholder groups.

The plan was developed in consultation with: the Yukon Arts Centre; Association Franco-Yukonnaise; Northern Lights School of Dance; White Pass and Yukon Route; Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce; Yukon Tourism and Culture; Yukon Economic Development; Tourism Association of Yukon; Miles Canyon Historic Railway Society; Physical and Theatrical Arts Groups; the City of Whitehorse; Yukon Artists at Work Society; the MacBride Museum; Yukon Historical and Museums Association; Yukon Music Teachers; Yukon Apparel and Design Association; Main Street Yukon Society; Leaping Feats Creative Dance Works; Mayor Ernie Bourassa; ArtsNet; and 12 performing arts groups.

The development plan also had a 'lite' option, which outlines a similar plan but with decreased development and capital costs.

The 'lite' version of the development includes $9.3 million for new buildings, $1.5 million for the initial wharf construction, and $1.5 million for initial site improvements and landscape development.