Is new Metro Centre off province’s list?
By ROGER TAYLOR Business Columnist
Tue. Mar 17 - 6:14 AM
ONCE AT THE TOP of the province’s to-do list of infrastructure projects, the proposed multimillion-dollar convention centre in Halifax has lost its allure since early last month when it was first announced.
Some people might have expected Premier Rodney MacDonald to have mentioned funding for the project last week, when he announced an $800 million top-up to the province’s capital spending program over the next three years, but that didn’t happen.
During an interview on Wednesday, the premier pointed out that the strategic infrastructure partnership, designed to deal with future private-public partnerships, was not included when factoring in the $400-million provincial share of the top-up.
The province’s share is expected to be matched by $400 million from the federal government. The total capital spending budget will be $1.9 billion.
"Building convention facilities wasn’t part of (the announcement). What that model ends up looking like — who owns it, who operates it, how it’s worked — we didn’t even get near that," the premier told The Chronicle Herald’s editorial board.
In early February, a selection committee from the province and Halifax Regional Municipality chose the Rank Group of Halifax as the sole candidate eligible to win a contract to build a new convention centre on the site of the former Chronicle Herald building and adjacent lands.
Last fall the selection panel narrowed the shortlist to two bidders, Rank and the Hardman Group of Halifax, from the six that responded to a call for proposals. When the municipality determined that a site reclaimed from the dismantling of the Cogswell interchange, proposed by the Hardman Group, would not be made available for a convention centre it was determined that Rank was the only qualified bidder.
The next step was to invite Rank to submit its proposal in greater detail, explaining how its project would work, how it would fit various financial models. The province and the municipality are to work out a detailed project plan for the convention centre with cost estimates and financing options.
Joe Ramia, who speaks for Rank, would only say his group has been meeting with government staff and consultants and he’s not sure when a final decision will be made.
The 2,500-seat convention centre is just one part of Rank’s proposal for the Chronicle Herald site. The complex is expected to be named Nova Centre, Global Trade and Finance. If this "shovel-ready project" gets the final go-ahead, it will be located in the heart of Halifax’s designated entertainment district.
The plan calls for the office component to be marketed as a location for clients from Nova Scotia’s growing financial services sector.
Calls to the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, which is in charge of making the final decision on the new convention centre, went unanswered on Monday.
The sooner work can begin on the convention centre, the better. It is likely the empty Chronicle Herald building on Argyle Street will be torn down sooner rather than later, considering the enormous tax bill the owner is facing.
Rather than having an empty lot facing the trendy downtown eateries across the street from the project, restaurant patrons could be keeping close tabs on the convention centre’s progress this summer.
The project will not only eliminate the Chronicle Herald building, but will also involve the demolition of the Midtown Tavern, arguably the city’s best-known watering hole.
(
rtaylor@herald.ca)
Prev
Linear Mode
