BY VIKKI CUNNINGHAM
In the office of Real Fortin, at the corner of Durham and Elgin Streets in the landmark ?iron? building, are several crisp new pages of design plans for a downtown student village.
Elgin Street is recognizable only in the angles and proportions, the brief repetition of windowed storefronts. The pen-and-ink sketches await the final touches of colour and texture that will give them weight and solidity, bringing an idea another step closer to reality.
The ?good idea? is still in the proposal and discussion stage. It has received the support of downtown boosters and some business owners.
?The first phase? says Fortin, who owns 50 Carleton, an advertising agency, ?is to convert existing rental inventory to student housing,? as the ?fastest, quickest? way to accommodate students and bring new customers downtown.
With College Boreal, Cambrian College and Laurentian University and its affiliated colleges, a considerable influx of students is expected this fall.
?Seven hundred to 1,000 rooms are required in the Sudbury inventory right now? to accommodate students, he explains.
He notes there has been no new rental construction in the last few years, which caused low vacancy rates.
Many students moving to Sudbury to attend school are renting apartments
When asked about mixing students in with the current residents of Elgin Street, he clarifies that he is working on ?the big picture,? not only one or two buildings.
?Our intention is every building on ?Elgin Street.
?For the downtown community, it?s a tremendous opportunity,? Fortin says emphatically.
It is easy to see how owners of properties on Elgin and nearby businesses would welcome the opportunity to bring hundreds of students to live in the downtown core, but it would require, he admits, a ?transition period.?
A casual polling at the Towne House, May?s Tavern and the Elgin Street Mission indicates that while there has, at times, been talk about reinventing the area, the current residents remain generally unconvinced that major changes will take place.
?I?ve had people that?s been here for 35 years, 38 years. What am I supposed to do, throw them out?? says May Gudrunas, owner of May?s Tavern.
She obviously has no such plans as she smiles and says, ?They pay their rent.?
A few doors down, the Towne House has already made the transition and became popular with
students for its choice of entertainment. The rented rooms above, however, are currently occupied by a mainly senior population.
?We don?t plan on kicking anybody outta here,? states Matt Foy, bartender. ?A lot of these guys have been here for 20 years.?
What has moved beyond the proposal stage is the relocating of the Elgin Street Mission.
The current Catholic Charities Soup Kitchen on Elgin will soon be demolished and rebuilt. The new structure will house the Corner Clinic, Overcomers, Elgin Street Mission along with the soup kitchen.
The new complex is supported by Social Services based on their assessment of the needs of both
residents and homeless in the downtown area.
Jeremy Brooks, program co-ordinator for the mission, sees this a potentially positive move.
Combining several services in one location will reduce duplication and cut down referral time,
providing convenience, Brooks compares to ?one-stop-shopping.?
