Chatham-Kent’s mayor is feeling optimistic, despite a change in plans for the revitalization of the Downtown Chatham Centre.
A report was presented to council Monday night, saying the developers have nixed plans for an arena and entertainment complex and were going to refurbish the remainder of the mall.
However, Mayor Darrin Canniff says an offer to buy a portion of the mall could work in the municipality’s favour.
“I look at the economics of it and think it’s a very good deal to purchase it at fair market value, the Sears building and the parking garage, and basically we (would) gut it right down to the steel rafters and we could redesign something to create a much larger museum, an art gallery, a bigger library, and we can size the Civic Centre to the correct size,” Canniff explains.
The Mayor says the current Civic Centre is about 45,000 square feet, but says they don’t need nearly that large of a footprint for municipal offices.
Canniff says the municipality would like to retain the Cultural Centre, including the Kiwanis Theatre and the Chatham-Kent Museum.
“We’re not going to be getting rid of it, we’re still working to expand the space that we’re going to be working with. I’d like to see the museum 30,000 square feet versus the 3500 square feet, and it becomes a museum we can put a lot more in.”
Canniff says he’s disappointed the DCC plan no longer includes an arena, as the aging Memorial Arena in Chatham needs to be replaced. However, he says the search will continue for a new space.
A report on all of the options, pros, cons, and costs will be presented to council on October 30.
The options moving forward include:
One: doing nothing and addressing concerns on an as-need basis on current municipal properties such as the Civic Centre, museum and library.
Two: Renovate the current Civic Centre.
Three: Renovate the current Civic Centre, expand the Chatham library and make improvements to the Cultural Centre.
Four: Build a new Civic Centre in a new location.
Five: Purchase a portion of the Downtown Chatham Centre and relocate municipal properties.
