Nearly $50 million worth of funding from the federal government will go towards the construction of two green infrastructure projects in Thunder Bay.

Patty Hajdu, the federal Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario (FedNor), announced an additional $33.4 million in funding for the projects on June 30.

At more than $31 million, one project calls for the relocation of the Thunder Bay Art Gallery to the shore of Lake Superior on Thunder Bay's waterfront.

A new, net-zero home for the institution will include large, flexible spaces to host events and art exhibitions, classrooms and studios for creative learning and greater opportunities to experience and learn about art. It will also include more space to house the gallery's collection of contemporary art by Indigenous and Northwestern Ontario artists.

"In addition to reclaiming a brownfield site for this community, the Thunder Bay Art Gallery will now be able to build a net zero carbon public art gallery and community gathering place on the shore of Lake Superior,” said gallery director Sharon Godwin. “The Gallery Board and staff who have been working to realize the new waterfront art gallery for over a decade are extremely grateful to Infrastructure Canada for this ground-breaking funding which will ensure the construction of the new waterfront art gallery."

Infrastructure Canada is contributing $19.6 million to the project through its Green and Inclusive Community Buildings (GICB) program, while Canadian Heritage contributed $12.6. million through the Canadian Cultural Spaces Fund, and FedNor added $3.5 million through its Northern Ontario Development Program.

Meanwhile, the feds have also allocated $13.8 million though the GICB to convert a former long-term care home into the Matawa Training and Wellness Centre.

The new centre will include several classrooms, multi-use training areas, individual and family transition units, a health clinic, and a cultural room with a stage, among other additions.

Once complete, the facility will provide education, health, social services and cultural programming to more 10,000 Indigenous peoples. Retrofits to the existing structure will also reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions.