Greater Sudburians will know by the end of June where a new Sudbury arena/events centre will be located, should city council decide to go ahead with the $100-million to $120-million facility.
City council is holding two special meetings dedicated to the four big projects, with one June 27 devoted to the arena.
“As directed by council, staff have been working with the proponents of the four large projects identified by council, with the objective of ensuring city council has sufficient, relevant information to make decisions about appropriate next steps,” says a staff report on the meetings.
“Council made a conditional commitment to support the development of the Place des arts as part of the 2017 budget. The remaining three projects have reached a stage where decisions on next steps are appropriate. As such, and with the summer months approaching, staff are recommending that council receive updates on all four of the projects before the end of June.”
A meeting on the other three projects – Place des arts, the Synergy Centre, a new art gallery/library – will be held June 28.
As part of the June 27 meeting on the arena, council will receive the recommendation for a preferred site, determined by a special committee set up to evaluate the options.
According to criteria established by council in April, the most important factors when it comes to location are cost, economic benefit and parking. Other factors include complementary benefits, access and ease of development.
Finding enough parking downtown for the events centre, especially if it's twinned with a new casino that's expected to be built in the next few years, is a challenge downtown. A downtown events centre would likely go in the Minto Street area, meaning municipal parking in the area would likely be lost. And the Place des arts facility is slated to take up another parking lot.
Consultant Ron Bidulka, who is preparing the RFP for the events centre, told councillors in April he is “agnostic” when it comes to location.
Sudbury businessman Dario Zulich has proposed building on land he and partners own on The Kingsway, while downtown advocates have been arguing the biggest benefit for Greater Sudbury would be downtown.
“The agenda for (the June 27) meeting will be dedicated to the arena/event centre,” the report says. “At this meeting, staff, along with the project consultant, will present an update including recommendations for a preferred site for the arena/event centre, based on the weighted criteria matrix approved by council on April 11, 2017.”
The June 28 meeting will focus on the remaining big projects, with each the subject of a 10-minute update. The Place des arts presentation will focus on a funding update; the Synergy Centre's and the library/art gallery's will sum up work done up until now and next steps.
Read the full report here.
