St. Catharines Downtown Association

James Wong expects the gamble he took a year-and-a-half ago is about to pay off .

It will take a few years yet, but word that the final piece of government funding had come through for a planned downtown performing arts complex was music to the St. Catharines restaurateur's ears.

Wong opened Coffee Culture on St. Paul St. about 18 months ago, pinning his business plan in part on a steady flow of future customers he expects the arts centre will generate.

"I did a lot of research and talked to the city about what's going on in the back (of St. Paul St.)," he said Thursday.

"This is one of the reasons why I opened this here."

A day earlier, the provincial government announced it will chip in $26.2 million to move its Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts and its Centre for the Arts into a renovated and expanded Canada Hair Cloth building at the back of St. Paul St.

The funding announcement was the final green light needed for a larger $100-million project that will see the City of St. Catharines build an adjoining performing arts centre.

Ideas for rejuvenating the city's ailing downtown have been debated for decades, since the core lost much of its pull as a retail shopping destination.

But officials and many business owners are convinced the joint performing arts project -- slated to open in 2013 -- is the key to breathing new life into downtown.

"It's the most important single piece, but it's part of an overall master plan," St. Catharines Mayor Brian McMullan said.

"We want downtown to be a destination again."

Please see full story in The St. Catharines Standard at: