Believing a revitalized downtown core is long overdue, Chatham-Kent councilors voiced their enthusiasm Monday night for a large-scale proposal for the mall property.
Last week, the Downtown Chatham Centre’s ownership group — Rob Myers, Pete and Jessica Tsirimbis, Ron Nydam, Don Tetrault and Jim Bullock — announced a multi-phased redevelopment plan, billed as the “Imagine Chatham-Kent” proposal.
Councilors had a chance to view a video about the group’s vision, starting with a first phase that would create a community hub to house the civic centre, library, cultural center and museum under one roof in the former Sears building.
The second phase involves demolishing a large section of the mall to construct a 4,000-seat entertainment complex and arena surrounded by retail outlets. A third phase could see the creation of residential and work space.
After Monday’s presentation and discussion, council passed a motion asking that public consultation take place, with results to be presented during the Aug. 8 meetings.
South Kent County. Anthony Ceccacci admitted he had “goosebumps” seeing what the proposal involved, as well as its potential for Chatham-Kent.
However, he stressed, this is simply the beginning of the process.
“You can already hear the buzz in our community,” he said. “I’m sure with the pedigree involved in this potential project that the ceiling is just unimaginable.”
Also approved was using up to $50,000 from strategic reserves for initial staff due diligence, with a status update planned for that same August meeting.
Chatham County. Michael Bondy said the business group is a proven team with a solid track record, particularly with the Retro Suites property.
“The experience that runs through this group should make everybody confident and give everybody a lot of comfort that this is going to happen,” he said.
“We have a downtown which had its fair share of challenges and struggles over the years. … We, as a community, should be thankful and embrace it – because I don’t think this will happen again – for this opportunity to transform our once illustrious downtown back to being probably one of the coolest downtowns in Southwestern Ontario.”
Bondy added the community still wants to hear more details but is overwhelmingly in favor of taking the next step.
“I had zero — and that’s a first in 12 years on council — zero negative feedback,” he said.
Bruce McAllister, general manager of community development, said there will be a Let’s Talk Chatham-Kent page available for public feedback, along with Monday’s video.
“We’re hoping to leave that open until July 15,” he said. “Then we’ll come back to council with those results.
“The second piece of it is we do want to continue on with some additional due diligence. We’re looking to get certified appraisals done in our assets and fully look at the business case going forward for this proposal.”
McAllister added it was too soon to say when a council vote could take place concerning the project, noting it is still in the preliminary stages.
Wallaceburg Coun. Carmen McGregor called the proposal a great opportunity for a public-private partnership.
She said she believes the possible spinoffs would benefit the entire municipality, not just downtown Chatham.
“When people come to visit, often they tour around and we have so much to offer,” she said. “This is just an anchor for visitors to come, and even for people within Chatham-Kent to be able to go and enjoy what we have within Chatham-Kent.”
South Kent County. Trevor Thompson agreed with the excitement around the table, calling the redevelopment plan a “generational decision” requiring a robust public consultation.
“When something like that comes along – something that transformative – we do need to plan thoroughly and carefully because every one of us here in Chatham-Kent will own this, even Chatham-Kent residents that haven’t been born yet.
“I’m looking forward to learning a whole lot more about the nitty-gritty details and the issues behind the whole proposal before we sign off on this.”