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THE ERA Ont Wed October The Second Section Sports News District News Entertainment URBAN RENEWAL TOWN MEETING com from page i Federal provincial and munici pal governments will form a partner ship to pay for the scheme Newmarkets share works out to 25 per cent of the costs The made in the scheme of the costs of acquiring land and a re duction in the scheme area The scheme was originally to cover the area up to Queen St across he river and in a straight line across Gorham St to Eagle St It now covers the area from Millard and Church to Water and Prospect COSTS CLIMBING The land acquisition costs were revised after a closer look at some of the involved Land acquisi tion will cost M per than planners estimated in June and about to per cent more than origin ally estimated be said But even yet no firm figures are ready The building appraisal so far has been only opinion Before any merchant will be offered a price for his building a new appraisal must be made by qualified appraisers appointed by the government partnership Mr Bous field buildings and The emphasis in the first stage has been shifted from redevelopment of the east to rebuilding the west of Main St and north and south of Botsford St More parking facilities will be built on the west than originally planned and Church St will be hooked to the Cane Parkway in the first stage instead In the first stage the ring sys tem will be started by joining existing will pay and Newmarket will pay TOWN IS RED Mr Bousfield also admitted the town will be in the red at first In the first year of stage one buildings will be torn down and the town will lose this as sessment But by the third year the new buildings will be erected and their higher assessment will begin to offset the assessment still being lost as others Mr Bousfield estimated that by the fifth year of the plan the cumulative effect of the new buildings higher assess ment would be fully felt and the town would be back in the black Over years the cumulative of the new assessment will make it easier and easier every year to bear the demolition he said While this was still a theory many com munities have accepted the theory and undertaken schemes confident that theyll pay off he pointed out SCHEME The questions and comments came fast during the meeting John a member of the town planning board and Mrs Mary New market councillor were among the peo ple who pleaded for the scheme Mr Insley said Main St was geographically for the develop- men but the potential tax income from the scheme would outweigh the pointed to as an ex ample of a town that did what had to be done Barrie had a block of rundown buildings lined with a greasy spoon res taurant laundry a used furniture store more often closed than open When redevelopment was sug gested these merchants howled in pro test But the city went ahead and today the largest store in Canada occupies the block The assessment on the new building far outweighs the rev enue the town collected from the shacks he said Mrs also pleaded for the urban renewal scheme It isnt the individual dollars and cents that town will receive she said QUESTIONS Other questions discussed at the meeting follow QUESTION Doesnt the geog raphical location of Main St on a hill make it a less progressive choice for a mall than moving the downtown to a flat area John member of the Newmarket planning board Mr Its a challenging design problem but we the design problems can and have to be overcome The present downtown Is the centre of activity the hub of a spider web of streets I cant think of any of tion good reusable buildings on Main St that should be built on instead of abandoned Design concessions include stop ping the pedestrian mall at the post of fice half way up the hill and building storey buildings connecting the MR There is no question the money comes from all of all over country Should we not start QUESTION Why are the burned buildings on Main St not scheduled redevelopment In the first stage of scheme William Robins Main druggist MR BOUSFIELD The living in orange crates spending a month to take in income These vultures were naturally against any scheme that would deprive them of their bonanza But the town should not hesitate it should take the steps MAI Artists conception of completed MR The public agencies would be absolutely delighted up moving to other locations because they wont he able to afford the new rents Then the big Toronto chain stores will move in an the Main St an unidentified Hear hear cried someone In the audience QUESTION Can you make a comparison between rents now and what they will be when Main St is rebuilt MR Rents will be schemes already immediately for people being out We arc hoping the burned buildings will be rebuilt by private enterprise and will provide floor space for people dis placed during stage one The first buildings to be built arc also scheduled for vacant lots the street Those will provide quarters for people moved off Main St while the front is being rebuilt QUESTION Can the owner of a building being taken down he guaranteed a return to the same space when it Is rebuilt MR There is no guarantee According to the law the new building must lie offered publicly for pro posals But the law docs provide that the successful bidder must give first offer of refusal to the man who was displaced rent he will have first char QUESTION After the June meeting one merchant estimated his rent will increase from tn a MAYOR At the June meeting no figures were quoted which any estimate of rent Increase could of his building would triple i people MAYOR You may be quite right in saying our public relations arc bad Some people have been spread ing around Information that Is not right But the contractor you refer to claims he is not quoting figures The contractor is involved in the scheme because Newmarket has a bylaw specifying 100 as the minimum assess ment for a new house being built If a make it up in commercial or industrial building Until now weve stressed the in dustrial building but with the urban re newal scheme proposed we wanted to know if contractors would be prepared to do commercial building lo make up their the land will go to it Later on the mayor added that no one asked questions during the year and a half the plans has been under con sideration but He hefted a and asked How flourished armload of reports a you hope to get trying to fool the taxpayers into thinking an older house has a lower assessment because were buildings with They will naturally have a redevelopment scheme QUESTION I have close frien In own who are nut sleeping nights A lot of people are running scared I cause youve done a poor selling job I a good scheme hut youve got to across to people that there Is nothing in the implementation There Is also the problem of tem porary relocation space while Main St is being rebuilt Would contractors be pre pared to present proposals for these buildings So we asked a contractor if ho was interested in making proposal knowing that his proposal is not guaran teed any special consideration the rent figure being bandied around as a certainty The developer has been Is done urban renewal Newmarket MR If the down town Is not redeveloped then competitive plazas will spring up In scattered places Main Si business will scattered shopping plazas ingle focus QUESTION Where are now Even though there is hoarding the sidewalk and cement is being de livered to front doors it will bo on ex citing interesting place to shop because new buildings will be going up and things will be happening QUESTION Have you any idea what youll pay for private buildings What will be the rate paid per square foot for property you acquire MR No has been set yet The only rate set and this sample the cost of parking lots be shared in the 7525 cost agree Since they become town land Newmarket will have to buy them from the partnership and weve set per square foot as the amount the town will pay for acquir ing this land nonsharable costs for which Newmarket will have to pay are the Church St widening and extension widening and Water Streets the library extension the Millard St QUESTION Wont land values rise Wont you be paying five times as much for land in tears MR BOUFIELD There is no question property values will increase as improvements are made But the in creased assessment on new buildings should make up for land increases And by slage four private enterprise may have taken over to such an extent will be no need to use public funds to buy land for redevelopment QUESTION Why was this scheme not taken to a public vote MAYOR If we have have public approval of everything we do we might as welt give up council and just vote on every measure We spend more money on items we propose to spend on the scheme example council spent more than i this ye If we take this scheme to a vote It wilt be turned down because people dont understand it Question tould you clarify the I dont know of any way QUESTION Will you relocate Is now living above Main St stores will you have to build low rental cant be put elsewhere i public housing will have to be built You cant kick people out in the snow for six months while you busy yourself looking for alternative accommodation What If any public housing will be needed is not known yet Not until stage one is Complete will needs be known MAYOR We plan lo have Hie Ontario Housing Corporation do a needs study on accommodation for the of reimbursing merchai their tusmes hat happens hen Eves Main SI merchant QUESTION What about The GO fu ture is n but we believe the plan is flexible enough lo introduce a GO in the cast toward Queen St or near the existing QUESTION What will happen to taxes if the scheme Is not proceeded with MAYOR The ring street we call Hallway St is already on the town plans and will likelj be built anyway If we build it with the urban renewal scheme without subsidies will Without urban renewal or subsidies it will Even if are available the cost is 20000 under urban renewal compared with without scheme We sit ami do nothing about or we can dream of a future There are those that are afraid to dream but nobody can gain irom this scheme you who live in Newmarket Ihe concluded Campbell a Main St businessman also praised the scheme must progress To the people who are afraid I say we either go forward or wo Citizens question the experts at a town meeting