UPDATE: At its Oct. 1, 2018 city council meeting, councillors approved removing the conditions contained in the purchase and sale agreement.
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A new act in the play to save W.A. Fisher Auditorium is just around the corner.
Councillors are on board with waiving due-diligence conditions in the city’s land swap with HIP Developments involving the W.A. Fisher Auditorium at the former Barrie Central Collegiate site.
The matter was given initial approval at Monday night’s general committee meeting at Barrie City Hall.
The motion, if given final approval at the next city council meeting on Oct. 1, would remove conditions contained in the purchase agreement and sale between the city and the Waterloo-based developer.
The conditions relate to species-at-risk and their habitat, zoning, access to the property and soil conditions, as well as environmental and archaeological assessments.
The auditorium is located near the corner of Dunlop and High streets in downtown Barrie.
If HIP removed its conditions in purchase deals for 34-40 and 44 Bradford St., and Red Storey Field, city staff would close on those transactions and the Fisher property transaction.
HIP president Scott Higgins has previously told BarrieToday that once due diligence has been firmed up, or in this case being waived, the developer could proceed with planning applications and formal design for its project, which could include residential and commercial components.
The city has been working for several months to acquire and save the auditorium building following the high school's closure in 2016.
In May, council approved exchanging property with HIP at the former school site to make way for redevelopment of W.A. Fisher Auditorium and a new event centre.
HIP, which has plans for development along Bradford Street, would receive Red Storey Field, along with 34, 36, 38 and 40 Bradford St.
The city also began expropriation proceedings for 44 Bradford St., to acquire this property, at HIP’s expense, and it would become part of the developer’s land parcel.
The city would receive the Fisher building and property, along with land to the east along Dunlop and Bradford streets.
In March, council gave final approval to endorse, in principle, the facility design for the W.A. Fisher Auditorium and Events Centre.
The project carries a budget of $25.6 million as part of the city’s 2019 capital planning process.
The events/conference centre would seat 400 people and its lower lobby space would have room for 100.
A conference/events centre in downtown Barrie has been recognized as a need for several years.
