Chatham-Kent council will take another step forward in their quest to buy part of the Downtown Chatham Centre at their council meeting this evening.
Council will vote on purchasing part of the building for a price of $2.95 million from 100 King Street CK Holdings Inc. Money for the purchase of the building will come from municipal reserves.
Once purchased, Chatham-Kent plans on renovating the space and moving its city hall, library and museum into part of the mall that once housed a Sears’s department store.
In October, council approved purchasing part of the DCC, provided a few conditions and requirements—such as parking, easements, solar panels on the property and a buy-back provision, were considered satisfied.
In a report to council, administration said those conditions are now considered satisfied following negotiations.
Chatham-Kent mayor Darrin Canniff has been a strong proponent of relocating municipal offices, library and museum, saying it will help revitalize Chatham’s downtown, as well as provide more space for municipal services.
Chatham Coun. Alysson Storey has opposed relocating, noting many in the community oppose the recommendation to relocate, saying there is no need to move the municipal properties into a privately-owned building, because there is no solid financial argument to do so.
Storey will enter a motion at tonight’s meeting calling for further due diligence, requesting an administrative report on full capital, construction and operating costs of the site.
The plan to possibly move the buildings into the privately owned and more spacious Downtown Chatham Centre has been ongoing for almost four years.
In spring 2021, the downtown mall’s ownership group, including Rob Myers, Pete and Jessica Tsirimbis, Ron Nydam, Don Tetrault and Jim Bullock, announced plans to redevelop the property. With the Chatham-Kent Civic Centre needing millions of dollars of repairs and renovations, as well as more space for the Chatham library and museum, the move to the mall as a possible solution.
The former Sears store has over 15,000 more square feet of space than the Civic Centre, library, and museum, according to an administration report.
