The Downtown Association is setting up a new committee aimed at attracting investment to complement our still-under-construction downtown plaza.
As city staff prepare for a budget session on Monday at which they'll be asked for ideas on how to pay for the way-over-budget plaza project, the Downtown Association is pulling together members for what it's describing as "a different kind of plaza committee."
While other groups are working on things like programming for the plaza, association vice chair Paul Scornaienchi says the new committee will be to "invest everything around plaza."
"So once the plaza's built, you're hoping to generate more dollars to expand on what the city has built?" asked Ward 3 Coun. Angela Caputo, who just last week was expressing concern that the plaza might become "just another competing place that's going to be underutilized."
"Correct," Scornaienchi replied, speaking at the Downtown Association's monthly meeting on Thursday night.
Scornaienchi referred to a downtown plaza built in Thunder Bay with a $22-million municipal investment, which he said is now "a 144-million-dollar investment in that area."
Small museums and businesses have been springing up around the Thunder Bay plaza.
"There's all kinds of different items all around the Thunder Bay plaza,"
"We're looking for individuals from the BDC [Business Development Bank of Canada], like investors," Scornaienchi said.
"We're looking at private investors that have already committed their investment downtown, like the IDA folk and the Joe Ruscio folk."
"The committee, once formed, will be educating the community with regard to all of those stigmas that we currently have with regard to parking, with regard to everything that has come out negative through media, plaza-wise."
The new plaza committee is "just getting off the ground," Scornaienchi said.
"We don't actually have members yet."
The committee won't raise funds so much as it will "promote funds towards it."
"It won't be donated funds, but it will be driven from municipal, federal and provincial-type funding. And others."
The Downtown Association is a business improvement area funded by a municipally-collected levy from its members – business and property owners on Sault Ste. Marie's Queen Street.
Its annual meeting will be held on Thursday, March 9 at Mane Street Café.