CollingwoodToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected] or via the website. Please include your full name, daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication).The following letter was sent in response to reactions to the proposed development of the Collingwood Terminals site.
I read with great interest – and some dismay the series of letters damning the proposed Terminals development.
While I respect the opinions of the contributors, I was surprised to see that CollingwoodToday did not publish any letters in support of the development. Allow me to provide one.
I am fortunate enough to live across from the Terminal and view it every day. It is indeed iconic and to me, the anchor of our great town. It is, however, tired and needs significant work to maintain its integrity. Tearing it down would be expensive (funded by taxpayers) and would leave a great big hole.
The town has, by virtue of its request for proposals, found a successful design/build consortium willing to invest considerable funds to solve the problem. Moreover, they are doing so in the context of 16 guiding principles that no citizen could possibly challenge.
As we learned at the presentation on Nov. 27 (public areas only – not the building) the public grounds will be significantly enhanced; for pedestrians, cyclists, boaters, swimmers and tourists. And this at a cost to the town (us tax payers) of $17 million; one-half the expense. The design and thinking behind the three defined public areas hugely improves the derelict space we have now.
To the big issue – the condo tower. I would agree the current proposal presents a much larger block than the current tower it will replace. That said, the current tower is but a block of broken windows and bad paint. Not a great view.
I would encourage the developers to consider a slightly lower building, perhaps converting some of what are currently planned as hotel rooms into smaller condos or, charging more per square foot given less supply being offered.
But most importantly, the naysayers need to understand that nothing comes for free. And the developers can’t make money building parks and restaurants.
The money (and the need) is in condos. We’ve gotten used to looking at the uglier portions of the existing Terminal, I think we can get used to seeing a (more similar sized?) condo tower in its place.
J. Brian Prendergast
Collingwood, Ont.
