Chatham-Kent council will hear an update on the Imagine Chatham-Kent proposal, which will include a price tag for the project—which is somewhere between $115 million and $125 million.
The detailed report outlines costs to move municipal offices, the Chatham library, and Chatham cultural centre into the privately-owned downtown Chatham mall, as well as build a 4,000 seat arena.
The breakdown of estimated project costs under municipal responsibility, based on current market conditions, inflation rates, and in the absence of schematic drawings needed for a more refined estimate, Phase I of the project, which covers municipal offices and facilities, would be $53-million. The cost for Phase II, which includes the arena and entertainment complex, would be between $60-70 million.
Administration is recommending that the project be put high on the next council’s priority list. As the project moves forward, administration is also recommending spending $2 million to do due diligence into investigating the project.
The due diligence would include getting a certified appraisal and engineering report for the mall, getting more public consultation on the proposal, as well as getting outside legal counsel to initiate the legal negotiation of the terms of a development agreement with the mall owners.