Municipal council is set to review a proposal for a massive redevelopment project, in what could be the first step toward completely transforming Chatham’s downtown core.
During a meeting Monday night, Chatham-Kent Council will receive a report from administration that includes a proposal to redevelop the Downtown Chatham Centre into a community hub and entertainment complex, which would consolidate several municipally-owned buildings.
A group of local investors and the owners of the Downtown Chatham Centre will present the proposal to council during Monday’s meeting.
Mayor Darrin Canniff has already voiced his support for the project and said it will provide the kind of growth that will keep families living in Chatham-Kent for decades to come.
“I’m very hopeful that council as a whole wraps their arms around this and says, yes, this is an opportunity for Chatham-Kent,” said Canniff. “I think the [response] will be very favourable. When you look at the strategic aspect of this project and all of the wonderful things it does for Chatham-Kent… we certainly need to explore stuff like this.”
Municipal administration will recommend that council approve a public consultation process that would allow residents to provide input on the proposal through the Let’s Talk Chatham-Kent website.
As well, it is being recommended that council allocate up to $50,000 from Chatham-Kent’s strategic reserve to conduct extensive due diligence to provide a detailed cost assessment of the proposal. Along with determining the capital costs of the project, municipal staff would also compile appraisals for municipal facilities that would be left vacant by the proposal.
Administration would then provide an update to council on August 8 with a status report on the public consultation process, as well as the cost estimates.
The current proposal from the investor group suggests redeveloping the former Sears portion of the property into a community hub and promenade, which would incorporate the Civic Centre, the Chatham Library Branch and the Chatham Cultural Centre.
The design also proposes demolishing the remaining portion of the DCC to make way for an entertainment complex, which would support a 4,000-seat facility for hosting a variety of sports and events, including an ice rink.
The remaining land on the DCC property would be retained by the group of local investors for future commercial and residential development.
