If it ain't broke no need to fix it!

A reprieve but no end game. With the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board agreeing to partner with the City of Hamilton to find an appropriate site for a new education headquarters in the downtown core we are still left with the thorny question of what to do with 100 Main Street West, the current headquarters. Let me back up a bit. There is no guarantee that the Board and the City will find an appropriate site downtown and Crestwood could still be the ultimate destination but at least after intense pressure the Board has recognised that with consultation and the potential of very cheap square footage there is the possibility of staying in the core. Now to the very thorny and divisive issue of knocking down 100 Main for that is still the plan of the Board if it signs off on a deal with McMaster University. Where does that stand? McMaster officials made it clear yesterday in front of city councillors that they are now up against time constraints if they can't sign off soon with the Board. Holding up their deal is the issue of swing space in the Robert Thompson building where the Board would find themselves while building elsewhere with the intent on the city's part (supposedly) to move a concentrated Public Board of Health in afterwards. But more than one councillor is questioning not only the process for chosing the Thompson space, for instance there was no RFP done although in the real estate department an RFP isn't necessary it's just one of a number of options, but also the fact that the Right House which will have more than 53 thousand square feet available to lease when Community Services moves into the Lister Block, and that happens soon, is also the current home to most of Public Health. The required space is 53,200 square feet and thus many asked why was the Right House not considered and if there were concerns about the location were they ever addressed with the Aragon Group who manage a number of properties in Hamilton. The answers at times seemed to distress certain councillors who had heard a presentation from Irene Hubar who manages the Right House that she only knew of the Thompson building option when she read it in the paper. She went on to tell councillors that if the city moves out, the income from other tenants would only add up to 2 hundred thousand bucks forcing her as she said "to buy a lot of plywood to board up the windows". The upshot to this leasing deal is council deferred a decision until their March 7th council meeting where all heck could break loose. If the city decides to tender this project at this late date which is an option, the McMaster/Board of Ed deal could fall apart because of the aforementioned time constraints. If the city decides not to move to the Thompson building managed by Yale Properties and decides to stay in the Right House what happens to the McMaster/Board of Ed deal? It likely collapses because then the Board and/or McMaster would have to come up with their own "swing space" deal which when uttered openly during yesterday's marathon session brought a quick smile to Councillor Chad Collins face. This is going to be a very interesting vote because although the city wants McMaster to increase it's presence in the downtown core they don't want that presence at the cost of the demolition of 100 Main W. Here's an early look at the players and their attitudes. I will go ward by ward. In 1 McHattie was part of the presentation before the Board that helped create some breathing room looking for a new home for the Board. He's also a heritage guy and I personally don't think he's in favour of giving up on the current building. In 2 it was Jason Farr who led the charge to involve the Board in looking for a new home. His questioning of Hubar led me to believe that he's back on the fence regarding the "swing space". Morelli was in and out and did not speak but I think would follow the lead of Councillors Merulla and Collins. Merulla has already declared his support for the deal to bring Mac downtown is rescinded because he doesn't want to lose the Right House or spend the city's contribution of 20 million dollars. In 5 Collins from day one has not liked this deal but reluctantly supported it. If there is a force on council who can bring together a block of votes against  the swing space deal, it's Collins. Jackson in 6 has stated repeatedly he did not like the fact the City was hustled into a deal last summer that he was led to believe was imminent and hinged on city support. With no contract signed he remains a leaner I believe away from the current deal. Duval in 7 didn't have many questions but he's starting to feel the heat from his constituents who are just waking up to the Board of Education's plans for Crestwood. There is a growing movement to stop the Board from going there because of the number of  vehicle visits to the so called "birdland" neighborhoodMerulla and Clark join forces the majority will soon follow. Pearson in 10 a hard read on this one for she has stated this is a school board decision and if they want to do a deal with Mac and move to the mountain so be it but on the "swing space" aspect it's hard to say which way she will turn. Johnson in 11 gave the impression she was not convinced the Thompson building move was necessary and she is usually very tight with the taxpayers dollars and cents. Ferguson in 12 did not appear to buy into the Thompson building arguments at all and is a fiscal conservative. Powers in 13 is a consensus builder with recent proof the compromise worked out with Collins and followed readily by the majority of council regarding our new waste management contract. Powers is sensitive to the authority of the Board and does wish to see McMaster downtown. I got the impression that if somehow there was a good compromise to be found he'd be there to support if not craft it. Pasuta in 14 had little to say on this particular issue but is a team player and if there is consensus building that this "swing space" is not palatable with his colleagues he'll be there with them. Partridge in 15 although she has stated publicly in the past that this is the Board's affair I believe moved back to the fence after the presentation from the Right House. At the very least she'd probably like more time to study all the ramifications of this deal that was knocked together last summer. Mayor Bratina's thoughts are very clear on this. He wants Public Health in the Thompson building and the deal done between Mac and the Board of Ed completed tout suite. So what am I trying to say here? I think there are enough votes on council to nix the "swing space" move to Robert Thompson. If that is council's decision it may be the only way to save 100 Main from the wreckers ball. If there is no deal for space and costs become prohibitive and time runs out on a deal McMaster at least for now does not move downtown and knock down that 1966 building. But how then does the very big picture get resolved? The best result in my estimation is McMaster comes downtown with their jobs and occupies vacant office space in the Stelco Tower or the Robert Thompson building. It doesn't need a Taj Mahal at the corner of Bay and Main to stroke any philanthropist egos. The Board itself can renovate and expand into it's own parking lot at less cost than to move to the mountain. To me that's a win-win for the downtown. The worst case scenario sees the Board taking 4 hundred jobs to a site in someones back yard on the Mountain, McMaster moving downtown but knocking down the Board of Education headquarters in the process, "swing space" arranged in the Robert Thompson building so Public Health can eventually coalesce there with the end result that the Right House is boarded up for lack of tenants. That's the big picture that some people adhere to. That's not a big picture I can support and like many Hamiltonian's watching this debate closely one I suspect they can't support either. In other words if that building ain't broke............