Never let the facts get in the way of opinions, right?
Unfortunately, the developers of one hundred KING – the former Downtown Chatham Centre – experienced that last week.
The group announced its plans to revamp the mall – NOT including the former Sears building – to be a mix of retail, entertainment and residential components.
It’s a great idea. The mall has been stagnant for years, but the planned combination is an equation for success.
And it’s a private venture, with entrepreneurs Don Tetrault, Rob Myers, Ron Nydam and Jessica Myers combining to make it happen.
It’s the same group that conditionally sold the former Sears building to the municipality, which is taking a hard look at shifting city hall, the museum and the library under one roof.
And, during their announcement for one hundred KING, the developers underlined one important point, something Pam Wright captured for us in her story this week.
“Regardless of whether the municipality moves ahead to create a new city hall, library and museum in the former Sears building, Nydam stressed the one hundred KING project is a definite go.”
So, one hundred KING is a go no matter what. And it’s a private group doing it.
Yet…the online trolls showed up to complain about the use of taxpayers’ dollars to fund such a development.
It got so bad that JP Contractors, one of the operations Nydam oversees, released a statement online that – once again – stressed the municipality is not involved.
Four Chatham-Kent entrepreneurs are working to breathe new life into downtown Chatham.
Instead of celebrating such news, some people chose to attempt to throw shade.
They also apparently either don’t read stories or just opt to not believe what they read.
The four entrepreneurs are all invested in the success of downtown Chatham. They’ve renovated numerous buildings down there and run successful businesses. We have to agree with the statement from JP Contractors: “This group is the biggest reason why we even have beautiful restored old buildings in our downtown. This group has poured their heart and souls and talents into our community.”
Let’s celebrate the fact they are continuing to pour their efforts into Chatham’s core, not attempt to undermine things by spouting lies on social media.
A final note: Was it perfect timing for the announcement of one hundred KING, just two days before the community hub open house? Absolutely. Nothing wrong with smart, timely marketing.
