Interest growing in downtown city lots
City-owned land in downtown Barrie could one day be on the block.
Councillors gave initial approval this week to issue a request for proposals (RFP) to re-develop city-owned property there, and report back by this mid-October. The intention is to get feedback from a realtor about which properties would be the most developable and marketable, and consider that advice before marketing any of the properties — other than ones currently being considered.
This plan comes from the city’s finance and corporate services committee, which is chaired by Coun. Michael Prowse. It was originally looking at plans for two city-owned parking lots in the downtown, then widened the scope.
“It was felt we hadn’t yet fully explored the opportunity and we were concerned without that outside expert advice we were potentially limiting our development potential,” Prowse said.
The motion also included declaring surplus 36 Mulcaster St.’s parking lot and adjacent greenspace — but not the Armouries Building and Fire Fighters’ Memorial.
Other parking space which could be on the block includes the Maple Avenue lot north of Dunlop Street, on the west side of Maple, south of Ross Street.
Only Coun. Brian Jackson raised a red flag about the motion.
“If you look at selling your parking lots, at some point in the future a council will have to replace them (the parking spaces),” he said. “It’s pretty easy to sell them, more difficult to buy them back.”
Jackson noted there are advantages to selling the land, as the revenues will help Barrie’s parking reserve. And downtown city lots are under-utilized.
Mayor Jeff Lehman noted city property had been sold in the downtown, and the redevelopment has included parking spaces.
“But it’s a fair point,” he said of Jackson’s argument.
The Mulcaster property would be subject to redevelopment that retains the building’s historic and architectural significance, in consultation with Heritage Barrie and city council.
Known as the Farmers’ Market Building, 36 Mulcaster St. is a designated heritage property. Once a property has been designated under the Ontario Heritage Act, its owner must apply to the municipality for a permit to make changes to any of the identified heritage elements of the property, or to demolish any buildings or structures on the property.
An unnamed developer has expressed interest in 36 Mulcaster St.
The Maple lot is north of Dunlop, on the west side of Maple, south of Ross.
The downtown city lots are being considered for sale because they’re not needed for parking.
There are 19 parking lots in Barrie’s city centre, but average peak daytime use is only 53%.
A total of 2,111 parking spaces – not including the waterfront lots – breaks down to 890 on-street and 1,221 in lots in the downtown.
This means 992 parking spaces aren’t being used at peak times, so there’s not enough demand to meet the supply.
Barrie’s parking services are supposed to pay for themselves, but current forecasts show the parking rate reserve will be empty by year’s end. That means parking rates will either have to increase or be funded from property taxes.
Selling surplus downtown lots could add to the parking rate reserve, and perhaps spur needed development there too.
City staff say when these parking lots are sold and redeveloped, it will help revitalize the downtown, allowing more people to live and work in the area and to better utilize the parking spaces there.
Declaring downtown Barrie, city-owned parking lots surplus and selling them is not without precedent.
The lot at 55 Mulcaster St. and 90 Collier St. was sold to Mady Development and is part of its Lakeview Condominiums and Collier Place project near Barrie City Hall, to feature a Sobeys grocery store, retail stores, a Bank of Montreal, condos, plus two levels of parking, and eventually a pharmacy.
The city has also declared 10-14 Collier St. surplus; although there has been one offer, it remains unsold.
As does 1-15 Bayfield St.. The city issued a request for proposals in late 2010 to redevelop it as a hotel/convention centre complex. There was interest, but ultimately no deal.
The city also received an offer for 23 Collier St., just west of the Collier Street Parkade. There has been an offer, but the proposed developer was unable to submit a site plan, find an anchor tenant and close the deal in time.
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