Greater Sudbury Mayor Brian Bigger said it's premature to talk about locating a proposed convention centre at the Kingsway Entertainment District while the entire project is still subject to planning appeals.
Bigger was reacting to news Wednesday that developer Dario Zulich is proposing including the convention centre at the KED, where he says he can build it for a quarter of the $65 million estimate to build it downtown.
Zulich sent a formal letter last week to CAO Ed Archer asking for a meeting to discuss his plan. The mayor said in an interview that he's willing to listen to ideas, but the uncertainty surrounding the KED has to be addressed first.
“I don't think it would be right to support or reject any ideas when it comes to building and developing the future of the KED,” Bigger said. “What I do know is an idea like this would need public input. We need to have conversations in the community and then go to council for debate and consideration — and voting on it through an open and public process.”
Zulich said Wednesday he's proposing a public/private partnership (a.k.a. Triple P) model for the convention centre, which normally see the private sector build and run a facility for a set period of time, in exchange for guarantees from the city for operating money.
Zulich said there are several different models for Triple P partnerships and he'd like a chance to talk with city officials to work out details.
“There's so many ways to do it, and the city's has a number experiences with it,” he said. “I also have people that have experience (with Triple Ps), so those details would be up for the discussion.
“But at the end of the day, I think the best way is to move forward in a Triple P, which is private and public money in partnership to optimize returns and do the right thing for the city.”
Zulich said when city council decided to split the convention centre from the art gallery and library earlier this year, he began investigating the possibility of including the centre on the Kingsway. His consultants tell him it can be done for as much as 75 per cent less than $65 million.
“I'm talking to architects, construction managers, engineers, I'm talking to hotel operators,” he said. “And there's an opportunity that we've uncovered that really makes sense and I want to bring that forward to council.”
For his part, Bigger said Zulich's proposal was unsolicited, but he's open to hearing ideas that could be good for taxpayers. City staff will gather information and it to city council for a full and transparent public debate.
“I'm always interested in hearing from the community about ideas and opportunities,” he said. “This unsolicited request is something that staff will bring to council's attention. So the whole council and the public will be more aware of the details once staff has had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Zulich.
“But like I said, it's not a good time to either support or reject any ideas when it comes to the development of the KED until the LPAT process is completed.”
Zulich, who has encountered strong opposition from downtown groups fighting to keep Sudbury Arena downtown, said his idea would benefit the entire city.
"I'm not looking to hurt anybody,” he said. “I want what's best for the whole city, and I think if my idea it has legs — which I'm confident it does — it will benefit everyone. We all have to come together and you know, I believe in our downtown. I believe we should fix our downtown and I think there are many ways to do it that want to be part of that solution.”
When asked why he doesn't just build the convention centre with his own resources, Zulich said it's the sort of amenity that requires public participation.
“It's got to be a partnership,” he said. “There's a lot of reasons why certain assets are owned privately and publicly, and why some assets are owned jointly in a public-private partnership. So I believe that economically there are benefits for everyone involved are to do it in partnership.
“If what I'm proposing makes sense financially, then it's to the net benefit of everyone. And if there's a report that says it doesn't make sense, I'm good with that. I don't want to force square peg in a round hole. But I just think this is going to be such a win for all of us.”
