More of my thoughts on Peel Plaza information

Peel Plaza boss Bill Edwards brought up the fact that a private developer could decide to develop “ancillary lands” as part of the Peel Plaza development.

I applaud any effort to turn this development into a revenue generator that enhances the uptown.  I find it strange though that the ancillary lands in consideration include the former Jewish Museum that the city just sold for a dollar.

It makes sense that a private developer would be responsible for buying land and coming up with viable plans.  I think that the city should have put the entire project out to tender in the first place.  A developer could have assembled the land and decided what should be where.  Hopefully a private developer wouldn’t make missteps such as buying a property for development, selling it for $1, and then buying it back.

I also a agree with a citizen who brought up the fact that the city should have purchased the small brown building on Carleton Street that will be in front of the parking garage.  With all of the cash the city spent buying up land, I think this would have been a good piece of land to complete the land assembly.