Comment 79335

By Priority One (anonymous) | Posted July 09, 2012 at 08:47:56

Kelly: "These are the Rudi Spallaccis and others that have already, you know, built condo projects or multi-residential housing projects already downtown."

Spallacci is no developer-martyr.

Terraces on King cost a reported $16.5 million, of which the city contributed $1.8 million, and province/feds $8.6 million. It was almost two-thirds public-financed. He has no hard sell. His project list duggests that he habitually gravitates to public money, and Terraces on King (his last residential build downtown) is affordable housing, which has substantial demand regardless of the proximity to grocery stores.

To my mind, when they were drafting their plans for the Terraces the Spallacci group had a significant opportunity to incorporate an urban format grocery store at street level and they blew it. And so Terraces on King boasts 115,000 of residential space, 48,000 square feet of underground parking, and around 2,000 square feet of retail/commercial space at street level. Not exactly the ideal definition of "mixed-use."

In Appendix F of the staff report, there's an email from Mr. Spallacci which reads: "A food store has always and will continue to be a priority for a vibrant core. In fact a selection of food stores would make for a healthy environment. Any future development will hinge on the need to supply future residents."

Yet instead of working doggedly to incorporate a convenient place to buy food and household supplies, he decided that what people really needed more than anything was a safe place to park their car.

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