In a lengthy meeting on Monday, January 15, 2024, Municipality of Chatham-Kent Council approved staff recommendations to purchase of a portion of the Downtown Chatham Centre, along with launching a design process to move the Civic Centre, Library and Museum operations into the former Sears part of the mall.
The following recommendations were given the green light:
– A purchase price of $2,950,000 for Parts 1 and 2 on the draft plan shown in the photo above, funded from the Building Lifecycle Reserve.
– A buy-back provision such that the Municipality can trigger the repurchase of the property by 100 King Street CK Holdings Inc. at the same purchase price within 18-24 months, should the Municipality decide not to proceed with redevelopment of the property
– An option to purchase and right of first refusal giving 100 King Street CK Holdings Inc. the ability to repurchase the property should the Municipality not proceed with the redevelopment after 18 months, or if the Municipality receives a third-party offer within five years of purchasing the property that it is prepared to accept.
– A parking license agreement granting 175 parking spaces for municipal use in the parking garage and/or the DCC parking lot, along with access rights through the mall property.
– Easements be granted to ensure each party’s access to the loading dock.
– Leasing a portion of the DCC roof to 100 King Street CK Holdings Inc. currently being used for solar panels, along with a right for the Municipality to have one third of those panels moved as part of the redevelopment.
The following recommendations in a separate report were also approved:
– Administration is authorized to proceed with completing the Detailed Concept Design Phase for the Chatham-Kent Community Hub, which consists of a combined Civic Centre, Library, and Museum at the former Sears building.
– The contract amendment in the amount of $166,098.97 (including HST) for Project Management and Development Services of the Chatham-Kent Community Hub is approved to Nustadia Recreation Inc. and funded from the Building Lifecycle Reserve.
– Council authorizes Administration to hire a contracted Project Manager – Facilities for a period of three years to support the design and construction of the Chatham-Kent Community Hub, in the amount of $396,000, and be funded from the Building Lifecycle Reserve.
This story will be updated.
