Grey Highlands has whittled down its choices to two developers to revitalize Markdale’s Downtown.
The now vacant site of the former Foodtown building (once upon a time the F.T. Hill building) on municipally owned property at the heart of Markdale’s downtown at 20 Toronto Street North will be the focus of the project.
In 2018, Grey Highlands bought the two-acre property at the corner of Grey Road 12 and Highway 10 with an aim to use it in downtown revitalization efforts. The empty building was demolished and a temporary gravel area with benches and lighting has been put in its place. A smaller property across the street beside Fire & Ice is also municipally owned and vacant.
Staff note, in the peak season, about 9,300 travellers go through the downtown a day.
Council has been looking for ideas and visions that might include retail, commercial and professional offices, housing, entertainment and education. They want the project to include best practices in green and sustainable development and to have a heavy emphasis on public input.
In November of 2020, they put a call out for Expressions of Interest from people, design and planning firms, academic institutions, architectural organizations and community building agencies. Council received seven Expressions of Interest.
Staff are recommending two Canadian firms to choose from, Fotenn and The Planning Partnership. Director of Community and Economic Development, Michele Harris told Council at Wednesday’s meeting staff, “Strongly recommend the two that we’ve put forward for Council consideration, to the next step.”
Now, the municipality will reach out to them for formal proposal presentations to be made to a technical review team. A staff report says the team is made up of Grey Highlands’ CAO, the Director of Economic and Community Development, and three volunteer professionals with experience in architecture, community engagement and economic development.
The proposals won’t be presented publicly because they contain proprietary information.
The Technical Team’s chosen proposal is due to come before council for approval sometime mid-year.
