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THE CHANGING FACE OF DOWNTOWN BARRIE The Barrie Examiner Friday June 18 19769 Major core redevelopment is needed Barries downtown is not an economic disaster area yet But if something is not done soon to encourage niaor core redevelopment cou face grave problems in future says Millet Salter wellknown ar chitect Only an amendment to the citys official plan to designate the core the primary area for retail commercial cultural institutional and ad ministrative uses and slackening of the citys parking requirements for new stores and businesses will attract the developments needed to give the core renewed vigor and vitality Otherwise the core is destined to play second fiddle to the malls and gradually deteriorate despite the efforts of individual businessmen to remain viable and progressive Without these zoing amend THE WELLINGTON HOTEL UNDER RESTORATION Newer store operators warin prefer down town Some of the newer downtown store operators prefer the at mosphere of the city core to the Bay ield malls But they ex press some uncertainty and pessimism over the downtowns future in interviews Susanne George of Millcreeck and Helen Meier of Copperworld both on Dunlop Street East said they like the intimacy and personality of the core and dislike sterility and impersonality of the large malls Although both enjoy working downtown and see great poten tial for development they ad mit hurdles must be overcome if its to prosper and thrive Ms George former Georgian College advertising and journalism student said shoppers at the malls lose human contact Mrs Meier said she would not like to run store in mall because of the constraints mer chants are subjected to by mall managers and owners PARKING Both newcomers voiced the same complaint with the down town that other merchants have focused on in the past namely the lack of parking Ms George said that by making Dunlop into oneway street and allowing angle parking many more spaces could be created making down town shopping more enjoyable and convenient The lack of parking is one of the main reasons her friends shop at the malls Mrs Meier said There they dont have to worry about expired parking Public meeting possible after talk with McKeough STROUI public meeting may be held after In nisfil council meets with On tario Treasurer Darcy McKeough to discuss annexa tiontoday To contact manufacturer STROUDThe mother of fivemonthold son who was found sleeping with bell from his baby shoes in his mouth intends to write to the manufacturer The mother said the baby did not untie the shoes but broke the lace and removed the bell The shoes sold under the name Parisette are man ufactured in Canada she said and Woolworths where she urchased the shoes is locating the manufacturer for her She also intends to contact the Footwear Bureau of Canada meters However she is quick to add that parkingis not the cores only problem The downtown is suffering from number of diseases none of them simple and none of them easy to diagnose she said She said if there was one single simple solution to revitalizing the core someone would have done it by now and the problem would not be plaguing merchants and prom pting the Greater Barrie Cham ber of Commerce civic affairs committee to do major study of its needs and shortcomings Mrs Meier thinks promotions like the downtown pedestrian mall are good ideas to get shop pers to the core But more is needed she said USE THE BAY Barrie is not taking ad vantage of its lakefront enough In Europe where she was born and raised cities on lakes build restaurants with dining terraces overhanging the waterfront and construct scenic parks and gradens where shop pers can stroll and rest their weary feet Europe has much fewer lakes Mr Meier said Here there are plenty and people just dont appreciate them the same way Shopping downtown is for people with lot of time on their hands Ms George said They have to take their time and look into all the stores At the mall the pace is more frantic Its so fast she said Reeve Bill Gibbins said Wednesday night the meeting had been promised by council some time ago Council was to meet with the treasurer today at 11 am to discuss Barries plan to an nex 13500 acres from the township The provincial government is delaying decision on In nisfils proposed new official Theyre in andoutinaflash The majority of people who shop at Millcreek colonial furniture shop that specializes in handworked pine reproduc tions are tourists or outoi towners Ms George said Most of the locals dont even know the store exists although its been open for three months for they seldom come down town unless they work there she said She finds this frustrating because she knows the store has good product and knows there is market for it but it is just not getting the exposure it should PICKING LI Weekdays the store caters mainly to downtown office workers who wander in to browse around on their lunch breaks Ms George does the same thing in other downtown stores on her lunch now although she admitted to be strictly mall shopper before becoming the manager of Millcreek Business seems to be Picking up as the tourist season approaches However Ms George doesnt like to depend on the seasonal business because this is not touristy store Copperworld which sells handmade copper jewelry or naments and decorations made by Canadian and European cop persmiths has somewhat dif ferent customer trend Every day is different and unpredictable Mrs Meier said plan until the issue is settled The councils of Innisfil Vespra and r0 say they will fight annexation at an tario Municipal Board hear ing later this year Coun Grant Andrade said public meeting will give boost to citizens group which is circulating petition against annexation annexation Agreement reached Solicitors for the separate school board City of Barrie and Township of Vespra have reached an agreement on the supply of water to Mon signor Clair school Wednesday night trustees accepted the agreement and is awaiting ratification from themunicipalities Under the agreement the Barrie Public Utilities Com mission agrees to supply the water and Vespra agrees to adopt bylaws permitting the supply The school board agrees to construct and design 1000 foot water line at cost of $10 to $15 per foot subject to tender Any new housing devel opments along the line will be required to pay hookup charge to the school board The special agreement is required because the school now under construction at the corner of Cundles Road and St Vincent Street actually falls within the boundaries of Vespra Township ments there will be no big building boom in the down town he warned because high land cost will prevent developers from providing the parking the city now demands Mr Salter artner in the firm Salter an Allison has probably contributed more than anyone else to the changing face of Barrie over the past 16 years His firm has designed most of the new buildings in the core in cluding the Barrie Credit Union Building Provincial Cour thouse Bell Canada Building Central Collegiate addition and Bank of Commerce Any downtown developer is forced now to pay between $3200 to $4500 per car to create underground parking And to assemble enough land in the core for the required above ground parking and the development is next to im possible under present con ditions he said Consequently developers are avoiding the downtown Kempenfelt Bay he said is the citys greatest asset and any development strategy for the core should include some commercial uses along the shoreline disagree with the prevalent attitude that there should be no commercial along the lake he said There should be some but it should be very very controlled INERTIA He believes that the best and healthiest type of development is mixture of public and private enterprise And the bay needs some private businesses to complement Centennial Park On the waterfront he would like to see either marina large restaurant or some kind of entertainment complex to give it vitality and focus Our biggest problem is that nothing ever happens he said The merchants arent suf fering as result he said but he would like to see them do better The strength of the downtown is its specialty stores Mr Salter said He thinks the level of service given in the smaller stores is better than that in the malls Born and raised in Barrie he has not seen that much change downtown over the years Other than the construction of the Canadian Tire Store and Woolworths there hasnt been that much Another thing the core needs is highdensity apartment development to provide the people to shop in the sotres High rise like Civic Square Tower is not to be discouraged certain amount is good but he does not see plastering high rise all over the city The rail line going through the core is here to stay he believes However he can en vision the large unneeded Canadian National rail yard to the south some day being the site of major commercial development Generally though the down town is pretty darn solid com mercially he says It just needs little encouragement and help to reach its optimum potential Stories and Photos by PETER LESNIAK THE MUNICIPAL Savings and loans Corp building at the comer of Dunlop and Owen streets has been decorated in turnofthe Arbour right chairman of the Ap raisal Institute of Canadas llu ronia chapter presented cerificatcs of accredi tiation to three institute century style The reno vated interior has antique lamps and long curved wooden counter The out CERTIFICATES PRESENTED members at this weeks chapter meeting in Barrie leter Klar of Newmarkct shaking Mr Arbours hand was named Accre dited Appraiser Canadian OFFICIAL OPENING of the new Barrie Community Credit Union building at the corner of Collier and Clapperton streets is July The $300000 building designed by Barrie archi tects Salter and Allison will make bright addition to the downtown inerPhoto Exam Was told it was Worst in Ontario but he put $200000 into the Queens It took former Toronto high school teacher to turn the roughest dirtiest beer parlor in the city into the most popular hangout for swinging singles for miles around Since buying the decrepit and grubby Queens Hotel af ter the husband of the previous owner was stabbed and kicked to death in the lob by by some boozy thugs Rob Hamilton 31 has spent more than $200000 to upgrade the hotels tarnished image and notorious reputation Today the loooddyearold banding pulses and throbs to the beat of disco music six nights week and has side of the building was sandblaster and partially refaced with stone slabs Examiner Photo Institute while Robert Harrington of Newmarkct and Audrey Scace of River View were recognized as Canadian Residential Ap praisers Barrie residents become the afterwork retreat of downtown businessmen and lawyers in threepiece suits and the top night spot of the citys denimclad younger set The hotels re utation had sunk so low efore Mr Hamilton biology and physics teacher in Don Mills for four years took over that even the Liquor Licensing Board of Ontario tried to discourage him was told it was the Worst hotel in Ontario he recalls It was definitely not something Barrie could be proud of LINEUPS Now crowds line up to get in most nights and people are coming from as far away as Toronto to enjoy the bars congenial pleasant and comfortable atmosphere he said How was the tran sformation brought about especially since the new owner had no previous ex erience in the hotel siness Ive been on the consumer aid for long time be ex plains know what liked and brought it here First he went to Toronto to hire the best interior designer hecould find The job of changing the dingy stark and bleak in terior of the old Queens into the new and modern one boasting raised and lighted dance floor an excellent stereo sound system and tasteful mod decor went to the man who designed several of the top bars in Toronto including Fingers and the Hayloft Hes the best and hes ex pensive Mr Hamilton says Hes given the people of Barrie something that they could only get in Toronto before DROVE THEM AWAY Another big change was the elimination of the live music acts that previously pounded out loud and badly played rock songs he says These loud cheap bands drove more people away than they attracted and left lot to be desired The bands were replaced by an ultramodern sound system that provides the con tinuous dance music which Mr Hamilton believes is the key to running successful and popular night spot People go out to see and to be seen Here the dancing is the entertainment and every chair in the place faces the dance floor Yet the music never over powers the room because the numerous kers have in dividual vo ume controls 50 that conversations at the back of the Lounge can be held without shouting into tablemates ear Business has doubled since Mr Hamilton took over and the renovations were com pleted but he says the Queens is doing well in spite of city council and not because of it CITY COUNCIL Mr Hamilton who recently bought another downtown beer parlor in Peterborough is outspokenly bitter about Barrie councils attitude to downtown redevelopment Barrie is so far behind that it thinks it ahead he says Barrie he says has the most beautiful natural setting for any community anywhere yet its downtown is going nowhere He says he would like to restore completely the out side of the Queens and give it ahuge canopied and ca ted entranceway to ma it really look nice But theres not much in centive because nothing is happening downtown he said If thought there were plans to develop downtown work would start on our place tomorrow Before buying the Queens he looked at several hotels in southern Ontario and decided Barrie because the town is place where things should beha pening So ar he says he has felt nothing but disappointment AN ATTRACTION What Barrie needs is major waterfront attraction to draw people into the down town he says He suggests big hotel marina complex that is at tractive wellplanned and non polluting Such development would not spoil the natural setting but would enhance it he says Hes not afraid of the com petition such development would bring either On the overflow alone from such an attraction he could double and tri le his present business esays The Wellington Hotel gets major facelift The Wellington Hotel is getting major facelift after years of neglect and slow but constant decline Its new owners Will spend between $50000 and $100000 restoring the inside and out side of the building which has had prominent place on the Barrie skyline for more than 100 years When the job is finished at the end of June said part OWner Larry Torpey the building will be restored to all of its past glory The outside Wlll be scrub bed and sandblasted to its original brick while the in side is in store for complete redecoration in an early Canadiana theme he said The entire first floor is slated for renovation Plans even call for the reopening of the Cove under new name but absent from honored the meeting were Delbert Jackson AACI and David Wass ltA Photo Examiner This will be quiet place where businessmen can escape the worries of the world for while in dimly lit and soothing setting Mr Torpey admits the Wellington had been allowed to run down in recent years and he and his partners are hanging their hopes on the cleanupcampaign Were trying to make the place attractive enough so that the people who normally dont go out for night will take advantage of the place Mr Torpey said He is encouraged by the necent cleanup by number of downtown hotels and businesses and thinks that any revitalization of the city core must begin with the property owners He said many businesses are reluctant to invest money in restorations because of the depressed LOCAL GENERAL JUNE SHOW The Barrie Horticultural Society will hold its June Flower Show June 24 at Sun nidale Centre at 730 pm Mr and Mrs Peter Scott will be gueet speakers and Rita Caldwell will judge entries BACK PACKING The Blue Mountain Bruce Trail Club Adventure Hike back packing weekend on the Bruce penninsula will be led by Willard Kinzie this weekend June 19 and 20 Par ticipants will meet at Tober mory Saturday at 10 am and hike south to Cyprus Lake camping on the trail over night Anyone wishing to join should call Mr Kinzie at 7284787 OUTLETS CHANGED Trailer electrical outlets at 25 provincial parks will be changed to new style this month to conform to Ontario Hydro safety regulations The change applies to 30 amp outlets only with 15amp fixtures unchanged Parks will lend converter plugs to campers whose equipment fits only the oldstyle plugs condition of the downtown area He and his partners however hope that by cleaning up their building they will get direct return in the form of more business LIVE ENTERTAINMENT The finished lounge will have an oldstyle wooden bar and will be highlighted by lot of pine wood trim fur niture and ornaments Live entertainment will continue to be the main at traction of the lounge However the new owners will try to get better groups and promise customers the music wont blow your ears off The restoration will mean much to Barrie Mr Torpey said for the building stands out from nearly every direc tion and will become real asset to improving the ap pearances of the core County roads to highways From the Toronto Bureau of The Examiner TORONTO Parts of two County of Simcoe roads will become provincial highways in the near future The dicision by the min istry of transportation affects three miles of County Road at the southern boundary of Innisfil township and 12 milealong County Road 12 in Adjala township The announcement was made after meeting involv ing George McCague PC DufferinSimcoe Arthur Evans PCSiincoe Centre transportation minister James Snow Simcoe County road committee represen tatives and officials from Ad jala township County Road is the eastern extension of Highway 89 running between Highway 400 and Highway 11 County Road 12 is the nor thern extension of Highway 50 from County Road to Highway 80