The town is exploring the potential economic value of borrowing up to an estimated $3.5 million to enhance the transit hub being developed on Railway St.

Last night, town council approved the development of a business plan to consider adding one storey to the transit hub to house a business innovation centre. It would complement a startup incubator proposed to be included on the first floor to help fuel Cochrane's technology sector.

The building was originally proposed as a transit hub and an office for satellite town services but the town believes there is an opportunity to capitalize on $4.5 million in provincial GreenTRIP funding to expand the project. The provincial funding must be spent by the end of 2020. The town would borrow any additional funds required and payback on a 20-year term.

Council liked the idea of exploring the idea and expect the hard and true financial questions will follow when the business plan is presented.

Councillor Patrick Wilson asked if the town had a backup plan should the project failed. Chief Administrative Officer Dave Devana says Plan B would be to house town offices on the second floor. Later on in the discussion, he said a second floor would not be built without a confirmed tenant to cover the cost of the loan.

Councillor Marni Fedeyko wants to ensure as much public consultation takes place as possible, recognizing there are tight deadlines in place to spend the GreenTRIP funding. Still, she suspects money will be top of mind for many residents and these numbers must be available.

"I hate to come down to dollars and cents, but that is going to be a concern of residents that live here, especially when we're looking at the magnitude of all the projects put together. It's millions and millions and millions and millions of dollars."

Mayor Jeff Genung said he's excited about the prospect of leveraging the GreenTRIP grant funding.

"I think Mr. Devana said it well last night," says Genung. "If we were to build an innovation or tech incubator by itself it would be a lot more expensive, so we're exploring what can we do to leverage that grant funding to move this project forward."

It is proposed a 20,000 sq. ft. building be developed, 10,000 sq. ft. per floor, at an estimated cost of $7 to $8 million. Five thousand sq. ft. of the first floor would include a transit plaza, town offices for economic development and tourism and possibly a chamber of commerce office. The other half would be for an incubator for startup businesses. The innovation centre would encompass the top floor.

Access to an at-grade pedestrian railway crossing to the Historic Downtown will be staged from the same property. There's also room for a potential passenger rail service and a "Makerspace" for art businesses. No timelines were provided for either of these additional buildings. The Rail centre would only be required if passenger service is made available in the heavy rail project being pursued between Calgary and Banff. The "Makerspace" is projected to be a 10,000 sq. ft. building that will cost about $8.5 million to develop.

The 1.71-acre parcel, last used for an Esso Bulk Station, will be the first of the three public properties in the downtown core that will be developed as part of the tri-site concept plan. 

Kris Nelson, of Urban Systems, told council the planning would be completed by the end of this year. Construction would begin in the spring of 2020 and would be ready for occupancy by the end of that year.

Nelson also provided an update on the other tri-site properties. The proposed library expansion/performing arts centre across the street is projected to cost between $30 and $35 million.

The lower deck of the 5th Ave. parcel will include a resurfaced rodeo grounds, playground, spray park, multi-purpose sports court and gathering space. The upper bench area will include a youth, seniors and events centre and a mixed housing project.

The town is also in discussions with the Rocky View Foundation to pursue the development of a $20 million four-storey, 80,000 sq. ft. seniors housing facility to be located on the north end of the lower bench on 5th Avenue. 

No timelines were suggested for either of these properties yet. The 5th Ave. redevelopment is expected to be completed in phases. Before any redevelopment occurs on the lower deck, however, the existing ball diamonds will have to be relocated to the Horse Creek Sports Park now in the planning stages.

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Genung Proposes Examining Costs of Creating Tech Incubator