This is the last thing I’ll say about the convention centre
The nay side lines up with the following arguments: “The building is too big and the architecture doesn’t fit in with our historic city.”; “Its benefits will only be felt Downtown.”; “Why do we even need a new one – why not just expand the existing one?”; “If it’s such a good idea, private business should do it! Why commit taxpayer money?”; “The industry is in decline, being replaced by the Internet.” etc.
All legitimate arguments for not proceeding with a new central library?
I jest of course. The library is a great idea, and the one we all seem to agree on. But I am struck by the fact that the same arguments against the convention centre could also be used (but aren’t) to voice opposition against the library. I suffer from no such conflicts, because I support both!
Haligonians love to debate things that will impact the Downtown. Down here, things quickly become controversial. Everything from whether or not to add one-way streets to concerts on The Commons soon devolve into “for” and “against” camps. We can’t even expand the farmers market without people picking sides between the old market and the new one. Of course, there are big decisions to be made Downtown, and after intelligent debate and discourse (and I am always impressed with the depth of intelligence, on both sides in these debates), people typically then need to move into the “nay” or “yea” camp, where rhetoric and talking points replace debate. Thus, it was with HRM by Design. And, thus, it is with the convention centre.
We are unabashed members of the expanded convention centre yea camp. The reason is simple – we believe that it will be good for the businesses of Downtown Halifax. We’ve believed that for 15 years, knowing through experience that the existing centre has been a boon for business Downtown. Why wouldn’t an expanded centre bring even more people to our doorstep?
It’s not our job to figure out the exact level of ROI this gives to the provincial or federal taxpayer. (Although the fact that there will be immediate, tangible financial benefits is a bit of a rarity, in itself, when it comes to government spending. What’s the ROI of those new multimillion dollar interchanges on the 102 Highway, I have to ask.) Others are adequately doing that. It’s our job to actively promote the Downtown and projects that will help the Downtown. We feel we are getting traction on the convention centre. We also feel we are getting traction on the importance of the Downtown. The Premier’s economic advisory panel, the Savoie Report, and HRM’s own Capital Ideas Report, are all incontrovertible proof that our politicians are now coming to support the idea that Downtown is important to the economic wellbeing of not only HRM, but to the entire province. The debate over whether Downtown is important is coming to a close. We won.
Does this mean the debate over individual projects is over? Of course not. Long after the convention centre project is approved and we have construction on Argyle Street, opposition will still be vocal. This is Halifax, and we love a good debate. But that does not mean that forces are not coalescing to support Downtown.
There are individuals that vilify those who stand in opposition to the convention centre, but I am not one of them. I disagree with them in this case. In a city where heritage is so much part of our identity, it would be ludicrous not to have active heritage groups. In fact, the Save the View coalition recently produced a list of 10 things they believed should be done, as an alternative to the convention centre. We strongly support nine of the 10 items on the list – not as alternatives, but as things that must be done with the new convention centre.
The convention centre now, rightly or wrongly, stands as a symbol of whether the governments believe that a strong and vibrant Downtown holds the economic (not to mention cultural, historic, and tourist-generating) key to the province. It won’t turn Downtown around by itself but it can be the catalyst with which to begin true reinvestment in our Downtown. Surely, no one can argue that that should be our ultimate goal.
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