05 October 2024 HUPEG offers update on arena, convention centre renovations
A generational city-building project of this depth has many moving parts.
After a successful summer of positive activity, highlighted by renovation construction beginning at both the arena and convention centre, I thought it timely to address a few recent items and keep the community in the loop on our priorities over the next few months.
Firstly, there should be comfort for all that our proposed value proposition in the overall HUPEG (Hamilton Urban Precinct Entertainment Group) project to oversee the renovation and operation of the arena, convention centre, concert hall and the planned evolution of the downtown business core with our “Commons” district vision remains whole. This includes:
- $155 million in future taxpayer savings over 30 years (per 2019 Ernst and Young report), with $10 million already saved over the past two years. No public dollars are being used for future capital or operating subsidies;
- $300-million-plus investment in the arena, convention centre and concert hall from private investors. This money is committed and represents a five-times greater investment into the facilities than what HUPEG initially committed to delivering for the citizens of Hamilton;
- HUPEG, as the overall facilitator of the downtown revitalization project, has invested nearly $13.5 million in private funds to date to keep the project sustainable over the past five years, with substantial future investments being made over the next 15 months through our role leading the $10-million-plus convention centre renovation and as an investor and equity partner in the $290-million Hamilton Arena Project.
Our strategic partnership with OVG, the world’s leading developer and operator of arenas, will help us make this happen — on time and on budget. There are no city taxpayers’ funds at risk in these renovations. The arena is on time with a completion date scheduled for November 2025.
HUPEG, as the overall facilitator of the downtown revitalization project, has invested nearly $13.5 million in private funds to date to keep the project sustainable over the past five years, PJ Mercanti writes.
The second item to address is the temporary convention centre renovation delay. This matter has been more administrative, as the last sets of facility drawings our project architects required only recently became available, as some files were hampered by the cyber incident. On Sept. 13, we did submit our first set of demolition and building permits for the convention centre renovation. We are excited to share that:
- Preliminary work that did not require a permit has begun;
- We have finalized our design and architectural drawings;
- We have a contract in place with a general contractor; and
- Substantial commencement will occur in the fourth quarter of 2024, with a substantial completion target of December 2025.
Lastly, discussion about the annual status update with council and the use of the term “secret” should be addressed. There are no secrets; all the agreement terms have been approved by council, the elected representatives of the people. They have seen all the information and the majority has been made public.
“Secret” is a misnomer. There are proprietary and ongoing competitive discussions among the partners that are not secret, just confidential. This is normal business practice, as we seek the best partnership conditions that enhance the overall value proposition (such as delivering five-times greater value to taxpayers versus the original deal terms). A generational city-building project of this depth has many moving parts and requires all parties to remain agile to respond to challenges and to maximize opportunities that benefit all Hamiltonians.
Over the next few months, as the project progresses, HUPEG will be keeping the community apprised of our activities via the MyHamiltonCommons.com website, which went live in May 2024 as a public engagement and communications tool. Please accept this as our personal invitation to you to share your thoughts, ideas and questions there.
A few other important initiatives to share:
- HUPEG is proud of our positive working relationship with both the Art Gallery of Hamilton and Hamilton Community Enterprises, two important community organizations we are in the process of formalizing partnership arrangements with to maximize synergies and long-term opportunities that will benefit all parties;
- We are working directly with city staff and downtown businesses regarding the formation of an Entertainment District BIA, as the downtown entertainment assets are currently not captured within the footprint of any BIA;
- We have formed a Downtown Safety and Security Task force in partnership with Hamilton Police Service, social services agencies and downtown business to work in collaboration with the city of Hamilton to support safety and security initiatives in the core.
We look forward to continuing to work with city council and staff on all matters and are committed to keeping the public apprised as we complete the first phase of the entertainment district revitalization.
See original article posted in The Hamilton Spectator.