Comment 73410

By Simon (registered) - website | Posted January 27, 2012 at 13:30:21

The City - ie public money should only be involved to serve the public good.

The public good is a downtown extension of McMaster University - in the context that it is leverage to entice students and professionals to LIVE downtown - along with the day to day spending of visitors. However, there is no public good in removing an existing functional and architecturally significant building - only to be replaced by a modern version of the same. In that respect - no public money should be involved. If Mac wants only that property and they want to demolish the existing and build only there - let them make that choice with their own money - I would see that as neutral to the public good.

There is a public good for the HWDSB to be located downtown - for the same reasons as an extension of McMaster is a benefit. The HWDSB moving from downtown to the mountain is not only against the public good - it is actually harming the public good. In that respect, the City needs to act to penalize the HWDSB for the harm they are responsible for.

The only scenario that produces a net public good is for McMaster to locate downtown - to an underutilized property (ie one of the many parking lots) AND for the HWDSB to remain downtown.

This can be accomplished by a strategic investment in McMaster, and a strategic penalty to the HWDSB.

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