Developer Dario Zulich, who convinced city council in 2018 to build a new community arena on the Kingsway, is hoping to buck the odds again by calling for the proposed convention centre to be added to the Kingsway Entertainment District.
In a news release Wednesday, Zulich said the convention centre could become a Triple P (public/private partnership) project that could be built for as much a quarter of the $65 million estimates for building it downtown.
“We have discovered that a public/private partnership opportunity exists by integrating the Convention and Conference Centre within the KED, resulting in significant savings (as high as 75 per cent) for all taxpayers,” the release said.
Zulich sent a letter to Greater Sudbury CAO Ed Archer last week asking to enter into official discussions about his idea.
“After completing a successful hockey season and an unbelievable inaugural basketball season, we are looking forward to continuing to foster growth that will lead our great city into a new and exciting era of opportunities,” Zulich said in the release. “As we await the successful outcome of the appeals at LPAT, we are constantly fine tuning and building upon our growth strategy.”
Zulich first proposed building the arena as a Triple P project four years ago, but city council decided it should be built and funded by taxpayers.
With Triple P projects, developers normally fund construction and other costs, in exchange for guaranteed annual operating money (such as the city's $60 million biosolids plant) for a set period of time, before the facility reverts to the city's full control.
The convention centre “will be instrumental in encouraging economic growth and diversity in our region,” the release said. “The synergies of integrating the Event Centre, Festival Square, Casino, Restaurants, a four-star hotel together with other future bolt-on structures such as the Sports Hall of Fame, additional ice pads and auditorium spaces, would truly allow the entire district to thrive as a premier destination.”
Zulich said the idea became feasible when city council voted earlier this year to detach the library and art gallery from the convention centre because of the delays from the planning appeals at the LPAT.
The LPAT – the Local Planning Appeals Tribunal – is Ontario's planning appeal body. It's dealing with several appeals to the KED, but its process is being delayed as the tribunal waits for upper court rulings on whether its streamlined process is constitutional.
While all three projects were supposed to be built on land vacated by the current downtown arena, city staff is looking for alternate sites for the gallery and library to ensure they are not delayed by the LPAT.
In his release, Zulich said the land is already properly zoned for the convention centre.
“A conference and convention centre for substantially less than the current projected cost, and as part of the KED, is a smart next move,” Zulich said in the release.
