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Lone
Wolf
Howl:
THINKING BIG OUTSIDE THE BOX
(Originally
published
in
Cochrane Times:
Jan. 31, 2007) for the Cochrane Times — Does anybody know the story of the stranger who comes to the small town and walks down a road wearing a hat that’s red on one side and blue on the other? Everyone sees him, but half the town sees a red hat, the other half sees a blue hat, and soon all hell breaks loose between the factions. A public hearing is called to settle the dispute. As each side is poised with pitchforks pitted against their kith and kin, and the entire community is threatened with permanent division, in walks the mysterious stranger and dons his hat to much shock and awe amongst the residents. I’ve always found it amazing how this mythical community locks itself into a tight little box so quickly. Both the townsfolk and their elected officials are stuck in a stalemate, unable to think outside the box of the two possibilities. Their salvation lies with the stranger (the one who created the so-called problem in the first place), for it is only he who is aware of the third option: that the hat is blue AND red, not one or the other. Welcome to Cochrane. We’re in the same box with the Domtar site debate. If last week’s public hearing is an accurate portrayal of the town’s stance, then a portion of the town sees it as a good move, a much larger portion sees it as not so good, and our elected officials are, no doubt, equally split. As in the story, our only salvation – indeed, perhaps the only way out of this conundrum– lies with the ‘stranger’ come to town: Bill Butler and Springwood Development. You know the story: Springwood is offering to clean up the site and develop it with some big-box anchor stores and parking lots. They estimate the cost for this to be $75 - $100 million and the completion date sometime in 2012-2015. The big box tenant store will sign a standard 20-year lease, which means 20 years of sizable payments to Springwood Development. By the mid-30s of this century, Springwood can renew the lease, sell the land, buy an island somewhere in the Pacific, or do whatever they like. Consider the land value in the centre of "Canada’s fastest growing community" by 2035. Yup. Unbelievable. The substantial cost associated with cleaning up the site today (to whatever standard deemed necessary) is but a drop in the comprehensive ocean of someone’s return on investment. This ‘stranger’ has come here and successfully divided us. It wasn’t Mr. Butler’s intention, but it’s happened. He came to develop valuable real estate and make it profitable... not only for himself and his investors, but also for his children and his children’s children. Bill Butler has vision. Real long-term vision. He’s thinking very BIG outside the BOX. We believe that our only two options are to accept or reject him. Red or blue. Isn’t it about time we consider a third option? Shouldn’t we be emulating this clever, visionary stranger? Cochrane has a long-term vision in place for the area. It’s the Downtown Area Redevelopment Plan (DTARP). It’s a solid vision, very friendly, very pro-development. Hundreds of hours of creative thinking went into it – by folks who thought BIG outside the BOX – and it deserves a chance. A local coalition headed by Lucas Arnatt of Blind Drop Design is proposing a well-thought-out addendum to the DTARP. It’s called the "Cochrane Centre" and it features a bevy of family-oriented development including a year-round Community Centre and Family Entertainment Centre, child care, arts facilities, and high speed internet satellite offices (so folks don’t have to drive to downtown Calgary day in and day out). This plan offers to compliment existing businesses in town, not compete directly with them. It’s worth a look because creative thinkers thinking BIG outside the BOX dreamed it up. Lucas makes a good point about how the town should be seeking investors who accommodate themselves to our vision, as opposed to developers who expect us to bend to theirs. Find out more about it at www.blinddrop.com "Yes, yes, yes", says the stranger, "we want the same thing, but a large anchor tenant is needed to make it happen." Again, let’s acknowledge that he’s right and emulate his thinking. Calgary Economic Development put out a call in June for a film and television soundstage needed in the area. No stranger to Cochrane and surrounds, the film industry saw $130 million spent in Calgary alone in 2004 (compared to Wal-Mart seeking to generate $52 million annually). There are 3,000 skilled workers in the local film and television industry (compared to Springwood’s claim to create 1,000 unskilled retail positions). The CED website posts the research findings stating, "the facility should be a purpose-built, rather than retrofit, sound stage facility… with a minimum of three soundstages recommended (possibly one 15,000 square foot and two 7,000 square foot)." Compare this to the 200,000 square foot building proposed by Springwood. And the best part is that a sound stage doesn’t require ample parking space. Throw into the mix the statistic put out by Alberta Community Development and the Foundation for the Arts last year confirming that for every dollar invested in the arts, $12 is generated. An ROI of 12:1? The $100 million Springwood hopes to invest couldn’t even come close to a return of $1.2 billion in five years, let alone one year. But this is just one idea. A few creative thinkers thinking BIG outside the BOX can come up with more. We’ve done it before in this town and we can do it again. As Mr. Butler told us at the hearing last week, "I’m not the only developer in Alberta. There’s a lot of competition out there." Let’s take him at his word and wait for some who are willing to accommodate themselves to our vision. For us, for our children and our children’s children. Let’s be thankful this stranger came to town. Not because we should buy his story, but because he’s offered us the inspiration to stick to our own. (www.lonewolftheatre.com) Back to Resources Page |