After a lengthy, sometimes tense debate, city council easily approved the site design strategy for the city's $100 million arena/events centre Wednesday, allowing the project to proceed to the next stages.
With a goal of opening in April 2020, the approval was important, allowing staff to prepare to rezone the Kingsway site, prepare a financial plan and move toward issuing the design/build RFP for the project within the first four months of 2018.
With several opponents of the Kingsway site in the audience – despite vehement protest by some, the location was picked in the spring over downtown – staff outlined how the process has evolved over the last seven years.
Catherine Matheson, the city manager who is the overall lead on the project, acknowledged that some people are not happy with the location. She pointed to other “transformational projects” that have been built in the city -- such as Science North and the Big Nickel – were also controversial at the time, although they are popular today. Those concerns helped produce the successful amenities we have today, she said.
“Each transformational project also came with tension and conflict,” Matheson said. “This process is no different, and for that reason this project will succeed.”
Dave Shelsted, who is the project leader for the Kingsway Entertainment District, said they received more than 1,000 comments from residents in person and online.
“The comments were overwhelmingly positive,” he said, adding there were some negative comments, mostly received online.
He said there will be 3,475 parking spots available on the site, that there were no plans to charge anyone for parking, and that phase 2 of the project would increase parking to more than 7,000.
While casino opponents have been vocal in recent months, Ward 11 Coun. Lynne Reynolds said the agreement is between the province and Gateway Casinos to build on the Kingsway.
“The location and development of a casino is not an issue for council to debate,” she said. “We are not debating the casino decision.”
“Sudbury does have a casino,” added Ward 12 Coun. Joscelyne Landry-Altmann. “There is an existing casino in Sudbury, it's the location that's going to change.”
Ward 3 Coun. Gerry Montpellier said yes, there is a casino, and it's in Chelmsford. Residents and businesses there are not happy they are losing a major business, he said.
“The world doesn't revolve around downtown or a location on the Kingsway,” Montpellier said. “The tourists eat there, sleep there and buy gas (at the Chelmsford casino.) Some of them will be bankrupt. It's not all roses for everybody else. It's not a good thing for Chelmsford.”
Ward 7 Coun. Mike Jakubo said the people he's talked with are supporting the location.
“The vast majority of people I talk to not just in Ward 7, but across the city, are very excited about this project,” he said.
“It's a stunning project and our citizens are supporting it,” added Reynolds.
See the full proposal here.
