Mixed-use development in Sudbury's downtown could help with parking, says lobby group

A plan to attract new development to the downtown core in Sudburyis finding favour with a lobby group that promotes the area.

A community improvement plan for the downtown was approved by council in December2016. It offers incentives for private developers to pursue mixed-use projects for housing and parking.

"We thought, 'OK, we need parking solutions, let's zero in on those lots, and let's get the private sector interested in redeveloping their lots into more than just flat-surface parking lots,'" saidSusan Thompson, the managing director for the Downtown Village Development Corporation.

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Mixed-use developments combine a variety of things on one property, including living space, commercial storefronts and parking.

Promoting that type of development means parking spaces could be growing up, not out, in an effort to combat a shortage of parking in the core.

Developers who own open lots are interested in the idea, Thompson said.

"For the private sector, I mean, they're open [to it]," she said.

It has to be financially feasible for them to do it-Susan Thompson

"It has to be financially feasible for them to do it," she continued. "I think it's just at the end of the day, the feasibility for the private sector, when they work their numbers, has to be there."

Thompson said mixed-use development projects are low-investment, high-return opportunities for Greater Sudbury and that they will help solve urgent downtown parking issues.

The development lobby added that these projects are a city's best bet for increasing tax revenues while promoting a more pedestrian-friendly lifestyle, reducing the need for longer commutes by vehicle.

Properties in the downtown area contribute about two per cent to municipal taxes, Thompson said.

She added that the last mixed-use development built in downtown Sudbury was St. Andrews Place, in the 1970s.