Posted Dec 8, 2009, 8:59 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: Halifax
Posts: 590
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Just an article discussing funding for the Nova Centre from today's Herald...
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Columnists/1156616.html
Quote:
If it can happen in Toronto, can we do it here?
By ROGER TAYLOR Business Editor
Tue. Dec 8 - 4:45 AM
AS STRANGE AS it sounds, the federal government’s decision to designate $20 million from its infrastructure stimulus account to help save Harold Ballard’s footprints is good news for Nova Scotia.
Actually, I’m not sure if the foot and handprints of the cantankerous former Toronto Maple Leafs owner, preserved in concrete at centre ice at Maple Leaf Gardens, are part of the plan to convert the former hockey temple into a combination grocery store and university sports facility, but I wouldn’t be surprised.
It’s good news for Nova Scotia because the makeover of the old Gardens signals to this province that Ottawa is certainly willing to loosen the purse strings for public-private partnerships that have broader community implications.
I’ve read that construction of a giant grocery store was deemed necessary for the downtown Toronto area and that Ryerson University was in need for recreational facilities. So this was a way to accomplish two things at once.
In Halifax, there is a perceived need for a new convention centre in the downtown, twice the size of the existing one. It would not only allow Nova Scotia’s capital to recapture some of the lucrative business it has lost in recent years as conventions went elsewhere in search of larger facilities, but it is also viewed as a unique opportunity to revitalize the downtown area.
Of course, Halifax regional council is gung-ho. But since the bulk of the funding for the convention centre is expected to come from more senior levels of government, the province is being careful to make sure the economics make sense.
The company selected to bid on the project, Rank Inc. of Halifax, has until the end of February to submit a detailed plan. If approved, and if the funding is available, Rank would build Nova Centre, Global Trade and Finance on the site of the former Halifax Herald building on Argyle Street.
Besides the convention centre, the project would include a hotel complex, an office tower, a residential component and retail space. Some people have speculated the cost of the convention centre could be in the range of $100 million to $200 million, but the overall development has an estimated price tag greater than $300 million.
Once it figures out what it wants to do, the province is expected to approach Ottawa to assist in the financing of the project.
Saving Maple Leaf Gardens from the wrecking ball is a valid accomplishment because of its historic significance to hockey fans across the country, but only the outside of the building will remain.
There is a plan for a small museum dedicated to what the building once was, but there won’t be much left inside after the renovations are over.
I can’t help but suggest that if Maple Leaf Gardens were located in Halifax, heritage groups would, in all likelihood, oppose the plan because they would want to keep the building as a hockey stadium and nothing more.
Loblaw Companies Ltd. and Ryerson are partnering on the Gardens project.
Loblaw already owns the building and plans to spend about $25 million to build a 70,000-square-foot grocery store on the first level, with the addition of a giant underground parking garage.
Ottawa will chip in $20 million to help Ryerson pay the estimated $60 million it will take to move the ice surface up a couple of storeys in the building and create recreational space, including a volleyball court and new basketball court.
Hopefully, the federal government will be just as willing to assist in the funding of the new Halifax convention centre when the time comes.
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