To the editor:
Local media reports that a few properties in the former Port Arthur downtown can be available to the city due to tax arrears. The Shoreline Hotel is identified as one of these and the Cumberland location of the former Lyceum Theatre, suggesting these could be used for parking for a multiplex.
It's time to get real iand grow into one city. The fact these properties are behind in taxes is clearly because nobody has any interest in the former downtowns. The suggestion that these dead zones can be brought back to life is regressive thinking and perpetuates the Thunder Bay tale of two cities.
After 40 years Thunder Bay struggles with the identity of one city, primarily because of city councils that live in the past with grand delusions of these former areas returning to days of past grandeur.
One present councilor stated that when you do something in one end,you need to counter that with something in the other, which is extremely regressive thinking and hardly a way of melding two cities into one; hence the tale of two cities continues.
Over the past 40 years,natural progression has grown a new city core between the CLE grounds and Oliver Road, leaving the former downtowns as remnants of days gone by.
The locating of an arena in the former downtown area is a recipe for disaster, and doomed to fail big time.
Previous failed attempts to revive the downtown corpse(s) have failed. Keskus was initially successful, but ultimately failed. Keskus was countered with Victoriaville, a white elephant since it was planned; ironically the white elephant remains while Keskus is long since plowed under.
The Ontario government building was another proposed savior, followed by the casino. Neither has breathed life saving blood into the former north core.
Adding to the perpetual failure, Victoriaville, we now have the courthouse building up, another expensive failing attempt of reviving a corpse.
These buildings being placed in the former downtowns,fails the entire city as they do not serve the city with any equity, and have done nothing to breathe new life in their locales. Face facts Thunder Bay, the former downtowns are dead and dreams of their past grandeur is delusional thinking and a recipe for disaster.
Innova Park serves the city equitably, has the bulk of supporting hotels and convention facilities within a five- to 10-minute drive as well as numerous popular restaurants.
With the recent revelation of a new parkade required to build on Water Street, the price to build there will easily exceed the cost to build at Innova, making Innova Park not only the better choice,but the only choice for a new multiplex.
There is more at stake than just the locating of an arena, but the future identity of Thunder Bay. Are we going to grow into the one city that amalgamation was to accomplish,or does this city perpetuate the tale of two citis for the future half century or more?
The time has come for Thunder Bay to look toward the future as one city and leave the former downtowns to develop their reduced identity in one city.
Jeff Caldwell,
Thunder Bay
