At $143M, Ritz urges public to compare GTR plans 'apples to apples'
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
CONNOR LUCZKA, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
After presenting a revolutionary vision for the what the Grand Trunk site could be late last year, local architect Robert Ritz promised to have formal numbers soon.
Those numbers are now in: $143 million, a steep price that Ritz says is worth it.
“People go, ‘Well, Ritz it’s more than double the price of what the city's proposing.’ Yes, but guess what? You're getting more,” Ritz said. “… Let's think ahead, folks. What do we need in the future? And let's plan where they're going to go.”
The whole 172,000 square foot community space and parking ($415 per square foot), dubbed the “Renewal Plan,” would be comparable in square footage to the Stratford Rotary Complex and Agriplex, though it would have many more components. All-in-all, it would have:
• A new YMCA ($23.6 million),
• A new location for the Stratford Public Library ($27.7 million),
• An aquatic centre ($18.3 million),
• A childcare facility ($6.1 million),
• A medical clinic ($7.9 million),
• Heritage space that tells the site and city’s history ($5.2 million),
• A mall-like concourse with retail and commercial space ($10 million),
• A performing arts space ($14 million),
• Event space ($3 million),
• Space for a restaurant ($2.5 million),
• 305 indoor parking spaces and 637 outdoor parking spaces,
• And a 52-unit high-end condo building.
The costs come from “estimators who work for Canada's largest construction company,” according to a presentation from Ritz’s team, which also notes the estimates are based on his proposal drawings and quotes from local contractors and suppliers.
As Ritz noted, all of those features would be housed in the old shops facility – and some would open doors for further financing. The condo sales could offset the cost of the rest of the facility, the YMCA of Three Rivers, the library and other organizations could bring in additional funding through specific grant streams open only to them and the restaurant would be privately financed.
While the cost is steep, Ritz argues it would be economical in an “apples to apples” comparison to building a new community facility with the same facilities and floor area outside of the GTR superstructure, as the City of Stratford is currently investigating. By his estimate, that cost would be $156-161 million ($418-$433 per square foot).
City staff, on the other hand, have presented to council an estimated cost of $47.3-$65.4 million to build a 70,000-100,000 square foot space that combines the Y with the library, with the potential for other organizations and ideas to be included – though according to Ritz, that is not enough to futureproof Stratford’s keystone project.
“I want to just stir it up and let people realize the big picture and to think long term,” Rtiz said. “… I look at this and I always say my grandchildren's children will be using this facility if it's built, and they will.
“… If my proposal became reality, how neat that would be? You take your child, you go for a swim. ‘Hey, kids, you want to go see the train?’ Have an ice cream at the restaurant, and just hang around the locomotive … It would be really, really cool. Stratford's history and future in one building.”
To date, council has pledged $15 million toward a shared community facility as part of the Grand Trunk renewal (GTR) plan, directed staff to formalize partnerships with the YMCA and the library through Memoranda of Understanding (MOU), to undertake the next phase of work on the hub (including design, governance and funding models), to prepare a report on the parking at the site after the completion of a comprehensive downtown parking study being undertaken now and to begin a market sounding process to gauge private sector interest.
No location, scope or design for the hub, within or outside the GTR superstructure, has been formalized. Neither has the fate of the superstructure.
Through a $1 million investment in capital transfer (representing a roughly one per cent increase to the yearly tax levy), the city would be able to afford its portion of the cost, with its partners, fundraising efforts and other levels of government putting up the rest of the cost.
For more information on the project, visit the city’s landing page for it on Engage Stratford: https://engagestratford.ca/grand-trunk-renewal.
For more on Ritz’s vision, visit https://www.gtrshops.ca.