If past planning is any indication, then I suspect that you could find the future location of the performing arts centre by getting out a hydrology map and locating the lowest point in the downtown flood plain.

If you think about it that is always where this city builds with public dollars... we even located the cities main fire hall at the lowest point on the flood plain.

IMO private money is not as dumb about these kinds of things, and that is why we see huge public dollars subsidizing the concept of downtown in all sorts of public dollar buildings... with each one being proclaimed the final piece to the puzzle to bring it all together and create the critical mass that will bring the private investors to the downtown. Its not going to happen... private money wants to invest where their investment has low risk and good outlook for future opportunities and synergies.

Not only do projects in the downtown have to work with a flood plain risk, but they also by that very fact have to build parking above ground, and thus limiting any future growth in capacity of the downtown vicinity. At best the downtown could hope to transform, but its growth potential is limited due to natural barriers. Clearly this winters’ ice jam should highlight the ground water peculation issues that are at the heart of the natural barriers to significant growth.

With the above to consider I think it would be throwing good money after bad if we follow tradition and build another single public building in the 200-year flood plain.

If the PAC is to become an approved tax-payer expenditure… then I propose it at least be considered in a location where a new urban opportunity could take root as a central area of the city that has the capacity to grow into a true urban focal point.

I like the idea of developing the area between the Brick and Pine Centre as a new urban renewal area with good potential for investors that want to invest in an area with high growth potential as an urban core. The area around the university would be another such area with that kind of potential but the current city council seems to like the idea of privatizing the viewscape of the hill to private home owners. Both areas have infrastructure capabilities as well as the ability to build parking underground, which should be the first two most important building blocks we look at before emotion or following past failed trends when looking to spark urban renewal.

Time Will Tell

I find it strange that in the discussions about the planning for the Performance Centre they said that locating it somewhere other than downtown was not ruled out. This sure sounds like it has already been decided to locate it downtown.
Until the downtown issues are cleaned up I would not support putting the centre down there. That would only be the certain death of the facility as people will not want to go to it. Maybe if it was built as part of the new ECMP centre then would people feel safe to go downtown.

"... be the certain death of the facility as people will not want to go to it."

Library and Four Seasons get lots of visits, and they are downtown.

The library and Four Seasons have had to retain the services of private security firms just so they can offer a relatively secure area. Pretty bad when the RCMP office is on one corner of the library property.
The farmer's market want to move because of the problems with the street people on the law courts area.
Without solving the problems downtown, just forcing a performance centre downtown will not help anything !. Get more residential downtown and not the crazy expensive condo's that even the developer can't get off the ground as they are not what the market needs ! ( Course that means you need to get air that people can breath the majority of the time ). Get the social agencies downtown all in one area and deal with the pawnshops.

That area used to be a swamp, and maybe it IS in the flood plain, but SO WHAT?
I haven't seen too much flood water around the copshop or camp plaza lately. Don't know how high the water table is though.
On the other hand, I don't think locating the PAC (political action committee? prince aboriginal congress?) downtown will do anything at all about "cleaning up the downtown" that is ludicrous, for examples look at the impact the Civic Centre, Law courts, call centres, third and fourth ave beautifications, have made towards making the downtown feel 'safer' NO DIFFERENCE.
Let me trot out a time worn phrase for your individual edification; "downtown revitalization" tee hee.
metalman.

http://flickr.com/photos/howaboutapeek/346460266

Wouldn't it be nice is we all lived in a sanitized world where everyone was like us?

6 billion people, just like us. The perfect world.

If downtown PG were like Vancouver, there would be panhandlers outside of the Inn of the North at all hours of the day. There would be homeless people sitting on each corner of 3rd Avenue and 4th Avenue. There would be protesters for work peace, housing the homeless, freeing Iranians in Jail, etc. etc. in front of City Hall each weekend at a minimum with music blaring away.

Downtown problems? PG? .... we have snow clearing problems downtown ..... and a bunch of people who really do not feel like socializing .... they cacoon themselves in their homes, their cars and their precious suburban shopping places ........ people could be giving away free ipods and they would not bother to come downtown to get them.

we reap what we sow .....

i love living downtown. as a member of a 2880 guild I would be very happy to relocate.

This whole fiasco has nothing to do with the residents of Prince George it is all being driven by City Hall, and City Planners, Engineers, etc;

Anyone with who cared to track what is actually happening could come up with some very interesting trends, that would show that the residents of Prince George are being conned by their elected representatives.

Example:

City buys property at 4th and Victoria a number of years ago for $2,750,000.00 stating that if they owned the property it would discourage speculation and assist in having the property developed. At a later date they announce that the New Police Station will be located on the property.

City sells the United Way property (Used to be the Old Jail before they built the 8th Avenue jail) to John Major who is building a gaming centre, and will move the Bingo Facilities presently at 4th and Victoria to the new gaming centre.

City states that the Performing Arts Centre (PAC) will be located somewhere in the downtown area. They also suggest that it is possible that studio 2880 could be located in the vacated 8th Avenue Police Station .

City owns the property that used to be the CKPG building across from Days Inn plus some other property in the same area. This could have been used for the Homeless facility that they are putting in at 17th and Queensway, and would have been an ideal spot, considering they already have the Moran Facility in the same area. Its obvious they have other plans for this property and will develop it at the expense of the people in the Millar Addition.

City buys the property that used to be Williams Moving and Storage on 5th and Scotia a number of years ago. This property could have been used for the homeless facility also. We already have Activators in that area, and the facility would have had little impact on the surrounding area, however it turns out that this property will be used for the Citys (Brain dead) Co-Generation plant.

There is much more going on with the manipulation of City property and I suspect the we will soon hear that the Playhouse Theatre will relocate to the new PAC which will free up that property for a developer. We will hear more about the re-location of the PGGolf course, and the Pine Valley par 3,which once relocated will free up more acreage for developers.

There is a huge cost attached to all these manipulations, however we never hear about them. You would have to dig down on their website for a long time to find out what the hell is going on.