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SYDNEY, N.S. — A local businessman hopes plans for the former Bargain Shop on Charlotte Street will help revitalize the downtown, but other community partners aren’t ready to commit.

Rodney Colbourne, owner of development company OTS, bought the building in the summer. Drawings have been done and plans made to create a building with garage doors that open onto the street and that will be home to more than one business.

“He really sees the need and the opportunity here downtown but it needs to start somewhere,” said Lindsey MacIntosh, project development manager with OTS, who is lead on the project.

“I keep getting asked, ‘Where are people going to park?’ Well, we don’t want them to have easy parking. We want them to have to walk up Esplanade, to walk up Charlotte Street so that it spurs more economic development … we want the traffic going up the street and going into the businesses.”

Hopes are to have the Cape Breton Farmers’ Market, which is looking for a new location, on the bottom floor.

Since the group is a not-for-profit and don’t have the same overhead budget as other businesses, MacIntosh said they plan to rent the upstairs so they can subsidize the rent for the Farmers’ Market.

“It just makes sense for the community to bring them (the farmers’ market) downtown,” she said.

“We’ve met with them several times and we’ve drawn up plans based on their needs … we are working out a sustainable plan that will allow them to come in and operate without too much financial stress.”

One tenant was interested in the top floor but that deal fell through, so the developer is looking for new ones. There is a bit less than 1,600 square feet available, which gives room for more than one tenant. Information about the search for tenants was put on Facebook for a few hours on Monday.

Pauline Singer, co-manager of the Cape Breton Farmers’ Market, thinks the Facebook post should not have gone out because it mentioned the farmers’ market.

“We are still looking at other locations at this point so for them to tell you otherwise is false,” Singer said via email.

“I think it would be misleading for us (Cape Breton Farmers Market) to let the public and possible tenants think that we are moving into the Bargain Shop.”

Bradley Murphy, downtown regeneration co-ordinator, also thinks it’s too early to talk about the project.

“It’s still tender. Nothing’s been confirmed yet. We kind of need patience at this point in time to see what it’s going to be,” Murphy said.

“I think there needs to be a bit more discussion … the community members need to get behind it fully. It needs more discussion but this is not the time to go public about it.”

Murphy said he is happy for the potential but thought it was “too early to say this is what we are doing, everybody get excited about it.”

Cape Breton Regional Municipality Deputy Mayor Eldon MacDonald, the councillor for the downtown area, said he is “looking forward” to the building being completed.

“I think it’s going to be a great benefit to the downtown area, especially the core area it is in,” he said. “I have no doubt when the developer finishes it will be a centerpiece … it’s been vacant for some time and some people are a bit concerned because of the condition of it.”

With Nova Scotia Community College Marconi Campus moving downtown, MacDonald thinks it is good timing for development of the property.

He also hopes it will show other entrepreneurs the potential downtown Sydney has.

“I hope when that building is open and filled it will get other people interested in other buildings and other businesses,” MacDonald said. “That’s the goal and that’s the hope — to attract more people.”

As soon as the upstairs tenants are secured, MacIntosh said they will commission the renovation. Currently, the building is cleaned out and ready for development.

nicole.sullivan@cbpost.com

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