St. Catharines Downtown Association

A roadblock in plans to revitalize the downtown core with a new arts school and performing arts centre won't put the brakes on plans to revamp a landmark hotel on St. Paul Street, says its new owner.

A $4-million renovation of the Leonard Hotel will forge ahead, said Nick Atalick, who bought the property last fall.

"It doesn't affect us at all," he said Monday. "We weren't looking for the finished school and theatres until 2012-2013 anyway."

Atalick bought the 80-year-old building in large part because of the potential to capitalize on spinoff benefits of a plan by Brock University and the city to partner on a new performing arts centre and a school of fine and performing arts nearby.

Brock has put its end of the project on hold as it awaits approval from the province of $21.6 million toward construction costs, which has also effectively stalled the city's part of the project.

Atalick, president of the Atalick Group, said a minor setback in the timing of the arts project won't hurt his company's plans.

"It doesn't really matter to us if it's six months or so. Our program is still going ahead."

Commercial realtor David Cooperman said it's too early to tell whether the hold-up may cause other prospective developers to hold off on plans to buy downtown properties.

"Does this put a caution sign up?" he asked.

"They're going to be a little more cautious, but they were cautious to begin with."

Walter Sendzik, executive director of the St. CatharinesThorold Chamber of Commerce, called the funding confusion "a blip" that the city and university will overcome. 

"I think there is justification to be concerned ... the city can't go forward on this without Brock," he said. "But with any project of this magnitude there are bound to be hurdles and stops and starts. I think the province senses the importance of this project to the community and I think that will spur them on."

A performing arts centre delay won't influence a proposal to bring the wine route to downtown St. Catharines, said A.J. McLaughlin, head of the tourism committee for the Wine Council of Ontario. McLaughlin said council members will likely vote in March on a proposal to extend the popular wine tourism trail through the Garden City core.

Council members consider the arts centre "a key component of the overall revitalization package," McLaughlin said, but as far as the wine route decision is concerned, "it's not a deal-breaker today."

He noted the proposed arts centre and school isn't expected to be opened until 2013, with or without a delay.

"We'll be making a decision on the wine route well before that," he said, adding downtown signage and a rickety Burgoyne Bridge are larger concerns for members of the trade association for Ontario's wineries.

Full story by P.Downs and M. Van Dongen in The St. Catharines Standard at: 

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2257000