The Peterborough and Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce has offered what they are calling a “win-win-win” proposal to build the 16 pickleball courts currently set to be built at Bonnerworth Park on the former Baskin-Robbins property at Aylmer and Simcoe Streets directly across from the Peterborough Public Library. 

In a copy of the 12 page proposal which was sent to Councillors and City Staff on June 27th, Sarah Budd, the President and CEO of the Peterborough and Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce asks “why not take one derelict property and revitalize it” and notes how the location could be developed through a “public-private partnership.”

Noting the contentious nature of the Bonnerworth plan, which has drawn large protests in front of City Hall in past weeks alongside a petition which has garnered over 7,500 signatures in opposition to the redevelopment, Budd suggests that ultimately "the location is the issue" which has led to her look at the vacant downtown property where "the neighbours would welcome the investment."

The property’s current owner is Don MacPherson, who in 2020 refused to build two apartment buildings totaling 129 apartments on the site in protest of the then-planned Safe Injection Site in the former Greyhound station at 220 Simcoe directly across the street from the property. 

In 2021, the Peterborough Examiner reported that MacPherson had walked away from the property and had abandoned hope of developing it. It was re-zoned for residential and commercial use in 2023.

Despite this, Budd told Arthur on Thursday evening that she has been in contact with MacPherson who she says is aware and supportive of the proposal now.

“He likely would yes sell the property either to the city or another purchaser that could enter into a private-public partnership to develop a development like this,” she wrote in response to questions about the proposal. 

Budd wrote that she became inspired by City of Peterborough Chief Administrative Officer, Jasbir Raina’s statement that “we need to think big, and we have to act big” during a June 11th preliminary budget meeting.

“We need to do what other progressive cities are doing and enter into private-public partnerships to get ‘big stuff’ done,” Budd wrote. “This proposal would make this 4M+ project go from 16 courts and parking, to 16 courts plus a new green park plus room for a 6-8 storey apartment building – that’s the kind of big thinking we need and Jasbir was asking for!” 

When asked about the proposal, the City’s Director of Strategic Communications, Brendan Wedley, provided a statement which outlined the fact that the plan to redevelop Bonnerworth did not include the purchase of property.

Additionally, Wedley noted that “preparing a former industrial site that's downtown to be used for pickleball courts would potentially add millions of dollars to the project cost” and that the property is “a prime location” for residential or mixed commercial residential development which would “add much needed residential units to the community and the downtown.”

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The cost to develop MacPherson’s property is not clear based on the Chamber’s proposal, however, this isn’t an impediment to Budd who sees the potential for “huge economic spin-off” by developing the property with pickleball at its heart due to the increase in people visiting the downtown core.

“Would it cost millions more, maybe yes,” Budd wrote. “But it doesn’t have to be the taxpayers’ millions, not if we get creative with our partnerships.”

As part of the proposal, Budd has included an option that could see the development of a six-eight story residential building which could include main floor commercial space.

Councillor Alex Bierk was positive about Budd’s proposal and the initiative behind it, saying in a phone interview on Thursday night that it represents what’s possible when the community is consulted in development projects.

“When you centre these conversations around the community, ideas and opportunities come to the forefront that might not come otherwise,” Bierk said, adding that the location “feels like a better fit on first glance.”

Bierk, alongside fellow Councillors Joy Lachica and Keith Riel, has consistently called for more oversight of the Bonnerworth redevelopment and have expressed regret at supporting the initial proposal for the project as it was presented in October in an Outdoor Parks and Recreation Report.

While Bierk is positive about what this proposal from the Chamber represents in terms of community involvement, he was also realistic in his assessment that the project’s parameters, as approved by Council in October and then during Budget discussions in November, didn’t include provisions for the City to purchase property. 

Because of this, Bierk related that while he’s enthused by the idea, it seems to be beyond Council’s ability to implement at this time. 

“The fact that we don’t own the land would be an issue within the current project because we don’t have the capacity within the scope of the current project to buy the land,” he said. “We have at numerous times, generally and through Councillor Lachica’s motion, tried to find support to find alternate sites and we didn’t receive support from other members of council to go ahead with that.”

That support from the City will be key, and Budd is aware of the challenges. Despite this, she’s emphatic that the plan could work if there’s a will to make it happen.

“If the city is interested in this proposal, I would be happy to help them find partners and help them make the numbers work,” she said.