I am in favor of a new or expanded WTCC.
I do not, at this time support the current proposal.
Wanting more information does not make one a visionless small town hick.
I am waiting for an actual business plan, having concerns over the architecture, the SIP P3 model, worrying about giving the private developer office towers twice the size allowed on those blocks under HRMbD and ALSO gives the private developer $100 million of taxpayers dollars.
People talking about this as a “catalytic building” in down town are just using buzz words to paper over the lack of actual hard information. Show me, Paul, show me, WTCC, show me how our 4th largest CC in Canada will not lose money every year, will not cost additional millions, will not spiral down into disrepair like all the other P3 projects the province has launched.
Show me how our isolated, hard to get to, but beautiful and picturesque destination will succeeded, and not fail, like the recent Vancouver CC.
Asking hard questions and getting no answers and then digging in your heels is only natural. Pro-WTCC2 advocates trying to paint a picture of caution and inquiry as being backwards and timid is, at best, insulting.
Response to Paul from DBTC on WTCC2
Downtownpaul just posted a pro wtcc2 article, linking resistance to WTCC2 to some kind of malaise and downtown death spiral. Here is my comment, spell corrected (paint fumes overcame me.. 🙂 We shall see if this gets published on the DBTC site:
DowntownPaul July 29, 2010
Waye , your comments to my blog are up (www.downtownhalifax.ca). I don’t think we particularly disagree at all. I never painted anyone who opposes WTCC II as being a smalltown hick (hey, I am a smalltown hick, originally!). People do have legitimate reasons to oppose this particular development, whether it’s because of height, compatability, need, or aversion to P3 projects. What I question are those who seem to oppose anything at all ever happening in downtown Halifax, and assuming we will naturally return to our post-WWII vibrance. We need to be proactive in reinvesting in downtown Halifax. I also question how people get so worked up about $100 million in investment that we KNOW will have some direct economic benefit, while at the same time ignoring the tens of million we continue to pump into sprawl that generates less taxes than it costs to service.
I also don’t get why people think there is some sort of provincial conspiracy to ram a convention centre down our throats against all economic sense. Surely, we have some faith that the provincial bureacrats and politicians want to make a good business decision here.
Is there a better way to invest in downtown? Maybe, but I have not seen the plan. I coninue to think that the CC is the FIRST thing we need to do, given that it has some provincial (and Federal) attention.
DowntownPaul July 29, 2010
Waye , your comments to my blog are up (www.downtownhalifax.ca). I don’t think we particularly disagree at all. I never painted anyone who opposes WTCC II as being a smalltown hick (hey, I am a smalltown hick, originally!). People do have legitimate reasons to oppose this particular development, whether it’s because of height, compatability, need, or aversion to P3 projects. What I question are those who seem to oppose anything at all ever happening in downtown Halifax, and assuming we will naturally return to our post-WWII vibrance. We need to be proactive in reinvesting in downtown Halifax. I also question how people get so worked up about $100 million in investment that we KNOW will have some direct economic benefit, while at the same time ignoring the tens of million we continue to pump into sprawl that generates less taxes than it costs to service.
I also don’t get why people think there is some sort of provincial conspiracy to ram a convention centre down our throats against all economic sense. Surely, we have some faith that the provincial bureacrats and politicians want to make a good business decision here.
Is there a better way to invest in downtown? Maybe, but I have not seen the plan. I coninue to think that the CC is the FIRST thing we need to do, given that it has some provincial (and Federal) attention.