City urged to build downtown
Acquiring Market Plaza as arena site would cost less than $50M: Architect
TERRY GUIEL
Never mind Morrow Park, said two downtown advocates: a city-owned site on Townsend St., when used along with the Market Plaza, is “the perfect location” for a new arena/major entertainment centre to replace the aging Peterborough Memorial Centre.
Terry Guiel, the executive director of the Downtown BIA, said so in a delegation to city council on Monday.
“You can do anything with the three Bs: Bulldozers, budget and boldness,” he said. “I believe that we should go big or go home.”
Michael Gallant, an architect and DBIA board member, also spoke in favour of that same location.
The site they’d like the city to choose is the current location of the public works yard on Townsend St.
Gallant said that if the city purchased the nearby Market Plaza — which fronts on George St. and includes a bowling alley and dollar store — and then close some side streets to traffic, the city would have 22 acres to work with, which he believes is enough space.
Although Mayor Daryl Bennett said at a meeting in September that the plaza would cost the city $50 million, Gallant said the DBIA has spoken with the owners and the cost would be “significantly less than that.”
“An investment of this magnitude in the downtown core supports growth,” he said, adding that cities such as Oshawa, Kingston, Guelph and Edmonton have decided to put major arenas downtown.
Yet Townsend St/Market Plaza isn’t the preferred location for the city’s consultant, Sierra Planning and Management: their shortlist of sites is topped by Morrow Park.
At their last meeting of the term on Monday, city council heard from Guiel and Gallant but didn’t debate or discuss the downtown arena idea.
Instead, council voted a final time to keep its options open, essentially leaving the choice of location up to the next council to decide.
The new facility would cost $85.9 million, says the latest report from Sierra, if it includes two ice pads and 5,800 seats.
With just one ice pad, it’s less: $72.1 million. It would take a minimum of five years to have it built and ready to open, Sierra says.
In addition to Morrow Park and Townsend St., the other four locations shortlisted by Sierra are:
•No Frills on George St. N.
•James Stevenson Park (the ball diamond) on Burnham St.
•General Electric (in part) on Park St. N.
•Canadian Canoe Museum on Monaghan Rd. (which is soon to build a new museum next to the Lift Lock).
Sierra’s study points out advantages to building on Morrow Park: it’s entirely city-owned, for example, and large enough to take an arena with two ice pads.
You can do anything with the three Bs: Bulldozers, budget and boldness. I believe we should go big or go home.
DBIA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
The idea would be to build on the eastern half of Morrow Park, east of Roger Nielson Way.
The facility would cover two ball diamonds, a parking lot, the small Agricultural Society offices and the Kawartha Gymnastics Club.
But there are no businesses within walking distance that would get economic spinoff from an arena in Morrow Park, Guiel pointed out — meanwhile there are 400 businesses downtown.
Guiel also said the downtown shouldn’t be a place where the city puts all its social services and nothing else.
“We need other things, please,” he said.
City council listened to the presentations but didn’t discuss it at all on Monday, its last meeting. The municipal election is Oct. 22 and the new council will be inaugurated Dec. 3.