Long before Anvil Centre opened in September 2014, architects and city officials developed plans that included a restaurant at the prime location at the corner of Columbia and Eighth streets.
Mayor Jonathan Cote spoke with the Record on April 12 about the Stonewater Group’s hope of opening a Mr. Mikes Casual Steakhouse in Anvil Centre. The company issued a press release last week indicating it had agreed to terms with the city to enter into a formal lease for the restaurant space in Anvil Centre.
Q: The Stonewater Group is interested in the space in Anvil Centre that the city had set aside for a restaurant. What can you tell us about the city’s vision for that space?
“To be honest we were caught a bit off-guard by that, in that there is no deal at this point in terms of the restaurant space with any proponent. We have been dealing with a few interested parties in terms of leasing the space, and we are looking at a variety of different options as to what the city would like to do with that space, both from either a restaurant leasing perspective, or even a non-restaurant option, all the way to the option of even some kind of civic use in the space. Council has wanted to take a pause to make sure, given how important that corner is, we are getting the right type of use in there, and give some thought to the different type of options we are looking at. At this point, no decisions have been made and no agreement has been signed with the city.”
Q: When the city first talked about building Anvil Centre, the city talked about a restaurant was a key part of the project and was a way of bringing some vitality to the area. Are you saying the city is rethinking that plan?
“With that corner space we definitely want it to be a space that animates the street and brings that vitality. I think that objective still exists. There are other financial components that we are looking at – how do things interact with the convention centre that we have in the Anvil Centre. Given that we’ve got a number of different ideas and potential proposals for that site, council wants to take the time and make sure we get it right.”
Q: It seems that Stonewater is very keen on going into that space – and they do have a tight timeline they have to meet. Do you have any concerns the city will be left with an empty space that doesn’t generate the revenues that were envisioned for this part of Anvil Centre?
“We recognize that that particular group has some time limitations. We are certainly hopeful they can extend those while we go through this process. We want to make sure we are getting this right. Having said that, given the type of interest we have had, expressions of interest on that site, we are still confident it is a very leasable space if we want to go down that direction. But we need to understand what our full options are before we make any final decisions.”
Q: It’s been almost two years since Anvil Centre opened – how long do you leave that space empty? At this point, wouldn’t the city already know what it wants the space to be used for? Shouldn’t that have been decided by this point?
“I think what’s happened is we are getting new, different proposals and opportunities put on that site. Unfortunately they are very different in scope, all the way from civic use to restaurant use to another use that might be related to the potential office tenant in the building. There are a lot of different considerations that we are trying to weigh and balance there. We are trying to figure out which of these opportunities are real, what are the benefits, what are the financial implications to the city and what would help us bring that vitality down the street.”
Q: Stonewater seems to think council may not view Mr. Mikes Causal Steakhouse as being ‘sexy’ enough for Anvil Centre and isn’t what the city’s looking for in terms of image. Any thoughts on that?
“I think when we first started down this road the city kind of had an expectation for a higher-end restaurant. I think going through this process we have recognized that that’s a difficult market to get into. Certainly, we want to make sure whatever ends up in that space fits well with Anvil Centre and things like that. I’d say there’s lots of factors into what we are looking at.”
Q: Do you have an idea of when the city may reach a decision about that space in Anvil Centre?
“I am expecting council over the next several months is going to be presented with a few different options and opportunities for that site. I think it’s through that process that we are going to be able to get to some decisions. At this point we are not putting out a hard deadline – we want to make sure we get the space right. Some of the ideas and proposals we are hoping to flush out over the next few months.”
