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Price of parking

THUNDER BAY -- About $2 million worth of public parking would come with a new proposed event centre.
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City manager Tim Commisso, left, chats with Icon Venue Group’s Dan Vaillant (Jamie Smith, tbnewswatch.com)

THUNDER BAY -- About $2 million worth of public parking would come with a new proposed event centre.

The city's Phase 3 Final Report's traffic and parking expects up to 90 per cent of the public heading to an event at the centre to drive there. The city is currently buying land in the area to bump up public parking by a net of 435 spots.

Three lots, one between Tupper Street and Camleot Street, another where the former Cumberland Theatre is and a third running along the East side of Water Street, would be part of the plan.

"Some purchased, some we plan to purchase and there are others that we're still working on," city manager Tim Commisso said.

The traffic study expects between one or two capacity events each year, meaning standing room only, which would need 1,870 spots. The added parking would bring the public supply within 800 metres of the building to 2,442 spaces.

The building would also have 50 barrier free spaces, 11 charter bus spots, 75 VIP spaces, 72 passenger pick-up spots and nine taxi spaces.

Land for parking is not part of the $101.1 million guaranteed maximum price for the build. It's in the nearly $13 million of other project costs that may or may not be eligible for federal or provincial funding. That includes $4.3 million to relocate the hydro substation, $2.9 million for a new transit facility and a $3 million general contingency for the project.

"Some of that may be eligible but that's some of the details we have to work out when we go forward," Commisso said.

Mayor Keith Hobbs thinks the city will find funding for things like transit through the province. He's also comfortable with the projected $1.2 million in annual operating costs for the facility. Decommissioning the Fort William Gardens would help take that number down. Plus there are new businesses moving in downtown that grows the tax base.

"You also have to think about the economic spin-offs and what's going to come to the region," he said.

"People are speculating already. That area's getting very vital."

Commisso added the $1.2 million is a very cautious figure.

"We think there are opportunities to do better," he said.

There has been a lot of talk about costs over the project but the city needs to address the benefits of the project more often.

"That's the part that I don't think we're hammering away enough on and people aren't really grasping is that you're going to generate a whole new economy in this downtown core and you're already seeing it. That builds our tax base. That offsets the costs of operating this facility," he said.


 





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