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COMMISSIONERS' REGULAR MEETING <br />Page 10 <br />Frid _Y, November 19, 1976 <br />Open discussion, continued....... <br />Mr. Wiggins indicated that's what they have down there right now. <br />Dan Caesar: "Are you saying that there's a possibility that you won't <br />be finishing the north end of the Mall, where the supergraphic is ?" <br />Chair: "It depends on what goes in there." <br />Mr. Caesar: "Suppose no businesses locate there, what will you do <br />with the property ?" <br />Mr. Wiggins: "We can't look forward to this being vacant property <br />for the next ten years, we expect to do something for it and we <br />think there's a market for it - suppose we were to proceed with <br />some sort of cosmetic treatment of this street as was planned in <br />several different plans and then we come up with some people who <br />would like to locate in that area and who will want some different <br />conformation that will fit in with their plans - then we have fouled <br />the whole thing up ". <br />D. Caesar: "May I interrupt, what about the finished Mall and the <br />empty stores that are there- you're not really sure what's going <br />to happen there are you ?" <br />Mr. Wiggins: "True, like I said, the crystal ball is cloudy and we <br />can't forecast the future. There's plenty of space in the downtown <br />area and according to George Wing, he is getting what he feels are <br />responsible requests for information as a result of the "City in a <br />Box'. Other businesses have inquired I am sure as to the cost for <br />them to be downtown, what kind of space they can have fur business, <br />that sort of thing ". <br />D. Caesar: "Regardless of the economic situation - and we can always <br />blame it on the economic situation - people are always going to <br />blame the Redevelopment Department for tearing up the downtown and <br />making it beautiful but with no retail outlets downtown. Isn't <br />there going to have to be much more of an effort to attract people <br />downtown before you start remodelling, making cosmetic changes to the <br />rest of the Mall etc ?" <br />Both Mr. Wiggins and Mr. Brownell asked Mr. Caesar what kind of efforts <br />he had in mind. His response was that he didn't know "you are the <br />Redevelopment department ". He also said, "You are charged with <br />that, that's what you have to consider before you do anything more <br />I would think.....". <br />Gene Evans: "Mr. Chairman, I certainly don't have to defend the <br />Redevelopment Department but I've heard this line of questioning and <br />these kinds of attitudes a number of times and I am inclined to <br />