Ladies
and Gentlemen
The big announcement from the past week was the agreement
with Mountain Ridge Estates (MRE) to build out our Midland Bay Landing waterfront
vision. One of the largest development agreements
in Midland’s history, it will take 10-20 years to build and all-in will cost
from $200 - $300 million dollars.
Big numbers aside, this Agreement is truly a win for Midland.
1)
The MBL site is a well-known brownfield
requiring at least $600,000 of environmental remediation. MRE will cover the full
cost of remediation, even if it exceeds that amount. MRE cannot start building
until the remediation is complete. The Town will keep ownership of the land
until after the remediation, so in the unlikely event the agreement broke down,
the Town would gain the benefit of all remediation work.
2)
The Town paid $3.4 million for the Unimin
parcel in 2014. Under the Agreement, the Town will receive this amount back
plus keep about 25% of the land for public space. This includes the entire shoreline where we
will have a public board walk.
3)
A key challenge for developing the property has
been to find the money to complete the “public elements”. Our staff estimates the
cost to build the boardwalk, the sea wall, the parks etc. would run between $10
million and $15 million. This Agreement
will see MRE building all of those public element s for an amount of at least
$11.6 million.
In return MRE receives the benefit of a waiver on future development
charges and fees (some $6 million) plus works with us to build out the
waterfront as envisioned in our own Masterplan.
The Town and MRE will formally sign the Agreement on
Friday the 20th. You are invited to be part of this important day in
Midland’s history.
*****
Monday the 16th and its March Break. Lots
of stuff going on. Check out the Towns listing of events at http://www.midland.ca/visitors/events-calendar and all the activities at the MCC at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjdcgiAeg-k
On a more serious side I have a GBGH Board Selection
Committee meeting in the morning. The Board is going through its regular renewal
process – making sure that we have good citizen representatives steering our
hospital. At 2:00 pm the Town’s Audit Committee meeting will be held at Town
Hall.
At 7:30 that evening a Day in the Life features
William Paul Young at the MCC. Paul is the author of the bestselling novel The Shack. His personal
life story is startling and compelling. And he’s a charming and brilliant
story teller. Tickets are available
online www.midlandculturalcentre.com
or at the MCC Box Office.
Faith and Begorrah, Tuesday 17th is St. Patricks
Day. If you are not out being Irish, you may wish to attend the Citizens Healthcare
Steering Committee meeting at 2:00 pm in the Tiny Town office. At 7:00 pm that
evening is Healthcare Innovators at the ShopMildand location. And then at 7:30
pm you want to be at the MCC for the popular Rant Maggie Rant musical celebration
of all things Celtic.
Thursday March 19th sees our Seniors Council
meeting at the NSSRC at 10:00 am. This meeting will address traffic safety for
seniors in our downtown, among other topics. At 5:30 pm you are invited to Lakehead University,
Orillia for the launch of the new “Research Centre for Sustainable
Communities”.
Friday the 20th – the first day of Spring. It’s
about time.
As mentioned earlier, the Town will have a signing ceremony
with Mountain Ridge Estates and their Chinese partner group to formally put the
MBL Agreement in to effect. You are most welcome to attend this special ceremony
at 11:00 am at Town Hall.
Weekend
Saturday
-
Ongoing March Break activities – (See the
Monday description above)
Sunday
-
Family
Snow Day at Little Lake Park from 10:00 am to noon, sponsored by Anytime
Fitness. Free activities for the whole family.
*****
Another
major step has been taken in making our area ready for our many tourist visitors.
The four municipalities, in concert with the economic development corporation
(EDCNS), are launching our new Destination Marketing Organization. This
organization will bring our collective efforts together to significantly improve
the tourist offerings and services available to visitors. Please see the attachment
for further information.
Gord
McKay
Be
part of Midland’s Year of Bold Action - 2015
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