River Town Times - July 14, 2021

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The first option for the possible redevelopment of H. Murray Smith Centennial Park.

The first option for the possible redevelopment of Jack Purdie Park. More concepts are on Pages 10 &15.

Nine concepts for two parks presented publicly By Ron Giofu

The Town of Amherstburg and its consultants gave the public a look at what two local parks could look like in the future. A virtual open house was held Wednesday night in which Gerry and Paul Bezaire from the architectural landscape firm Bezaire and Associates along with CAO John Miceli and director of community and protective services Heidi Baillargeon went over the nine options for two parks. Of the five options presented for H. Murray Smith Centennial Park, three contained an affordable housing component. Of the four shown for Jack Purdie Park, two of them saw much of the southern part of the park offered as space for affordable housing. Administration highlighted the need for affordable housing in Amherstburg and why the many of the concepts have included a portion of current parkland to possibly be converted to affordable housing. While there are two “all park” options for H. Murray Smith Centennial Park, options include a possible

assisted living facility in the northwest corner near where the former ACS building stands. Asked why on Monday night, Miceli explained there was a letter of intent signed with a company based off a motion he said was passed in May 2019. He noted a concept could still be prepared without the facility, but administration stated that parcel has a different zoning than the rest of the park. The first concept includes the possibility of such amenities as a sports field, pickleball courts, centralized play structures as well as splash pads and pavilions, trails, a hard surface play area (i.e. a possible basketball court) and a “passive seating performance area.” The second “all park” option looks roughly the same, but with a smaller sports field and additional parking off Victoria St. S. Options three through five for Centennial Park have housing components. Concept three includes much of the same recreational options as the first two but substitutes a sports field along Victoria St. S. with a pair of

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apartment buildings near the site of the former AMA Arena that could range from three to six stories, depending on the will of council, with 12 units per floor. Parking would be in between. The fourth option shows four townhome buildings with parking in between and a three-storey apartment building, also near the former arena site. The fifth option shows seven affordable housing buildings, not including the assisted living facility that is included in all options, with trails in between. The options all have some sort of hill included in them. Options for the 12 acres of H. Murray Smith Centennial Park range from $3.5 million to $4.9 million. Baillargeon said there “is still an abundance of green space” in each of the designs at H. Murray Smith Centennial Park, ranging from 58.6 per cent to 69.1 per cent. The current footprint has 69.7 per cent green space, she stated. Those percentages include the lands now owned by the Greater Essex County District School Board. Continued on Page 10

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