Council OK’s $2.95M mall purchase plan, with buy-back provision

Before a full house in chambers Monday night, municipal council voted to pursue buying part of the Downtown Chatham Center to potentially move the civic center, library and museum.

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Staff recommended Chatham-Kent go ahead with a $2.95-million deal to buy part of the mall property from 100 King Street CK Holdings Inc., including:

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• A buy-back provision letting the municipality trigger repurchase of the property by the seller at the same price within 18 to 24 months, should the municipality not proceed with redevelopment.
• An option to purchase and right of first refusal letting 100 King Street CK Holdings Inc. buy back the property if the municipality doesn’t proceed with the redevelopment after 18 months, or if the municipality gets an acceptable third-party offer within five years of buying the property.
• A parking license agreement giving the municipality use of 175 parking spaces in the mall’s parking garage and/or parking lot, and access rights through the property.
• Granting easements to ensure each party’s access to the loading dock.
• Leasing part of the roof now used for solar panels to the seller, and giving the municipality the right to have one-third of those panels moved as part of the redevelopment.

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Council approved recommendations 11-5.

Those at the table supporting the proposal reiterated this isn’t the final decision, given the deal’s buy-back provision.

“We’re going to cost it out, we’re going to come back to council, sometime in the next year or less, and say here is the exact cost,” Mayor Darrin Canniff said. “Then we can make a decision based on that.”

Voting in favor of the purchase were the mayor and councilors Lauren Anderson, Brock McGregor, Michael Bondy, Carmen McGregor, Anthony Ceccacci, Marjorie Crew, Amy Finn, Aaron Hall, Melissa Harrigan and Jamie McGrail.

Opposed were councilors Rhonda Jubenville, Steve Pinsonneault, Alysson Storey, Trevor Thompson and John Wright.

Councilors Conor Allin and Ryan Doyle had declared conflicts of interest.

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Chatham Coun. Storey, a plan critic, had planned a motion calling for more due diligence, and seeking a staff report on capital, construction and operating costs of the site. But after council’s decision, she withdrew it and will bring it back with updated terms of reference.

There’s a “disconnect” between council’s actions and the will of constituents, Storey said. “We’re not reflecting the needs and directions of our constituents.”

More than a dozen members of the public gave in-person deputations on the issue, including former MPP Rick Nicholls, who noted money would be better spent renovating the existing civic center than moving.

“When someone’s home is in need of repair, most will fix up their home, renovate it to make it more up-to-date and modern, rather than buy or build a new home,” he said. “In my opinion, that makes more sense.”

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Canniff noted staff recommendations to fix up the civic center had been voted down by council in previous years.

“The last two times, I supported it. I received calls saying, ‘I’m not voting for you, because you supported this cost,’ ” he said.

West Kent Coun. Melissa Harrigan agreed, saying the public was clear in the past about civic center repairs.

“I also recall being a councilor in my first term and getting an abundance of emails saying, ‘Do not put this money into this civic center, it is a waste of taxpayer dollars,’ ” she said. “Since then, we’ve had floods here. We’ve had unsafe work environments.”

Harrigan said the buy-back provision “does give us insurance” with respect to the overall project.

In spring 2021, the downtown mall’s ownership group, including Rob Myers, Pete and Jessica Tsirimbis, Ron Nydam, Don Tetrault and Jim Bullock, announced plans to redevelop the property. Council approved investigating the feasibility of buying part of the property the next summer.

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This past October, councilors voted to consider the project further.

A report at that time estimated the total cost of buying, renovating and moving into the property at $53 million. This includes taxes less rebate, buying the land, architectural and engineering work, contract administration, a 15 per cent contingency, and 15 per cent to allow for inflation in material and labor costs.

After Monday’s vote, Myers told reporters he was pleased with the decision.

“(We’re) trying to do a good thing for the city,” he said. “If I made any money, I’d give it away. I believe it’s a solid deal for the city. It’s a long-term plan.”

With a growing community, having revamped amenities is key, he added.

The reality is malls are being repurposed, and Downtown Chatham Center is no different, Myers said.

“It’s happening everywhere in the country,” he said. “Think of the savings between the library, city, museum, staff, security. All of it.”

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