Relocated Stouffville trade centre no Pacific Mall: Mayor

yorkregion.com
Sept. 17, 2014
By Sandra Bolan

Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville council has deferred approving an elevation change request by the new owners of the former Southwire building in west-end Stouffville.

But that does not mean a proposed trade centre won’t be constructed.

Corebridge Development Corp. does not require the municipality’s permission to undertake demolition work on the front of the building or inside of it, according to a Sept. 9 staff report.

That work can be undertaken as part of a normal building permit, according to the report.

The company hopes to open the North American Yiwu Trading Centre in late 2015.

Earlier this year, outgoing Mayor Wayne Emmerson went to Yiwu, China, with Corebridge executives to check out its wholesale trade centre - the Yiwu Futian Market.

The plan, he said at the time, was to construct a smaller scale trade centre on the 100 acres of vacant land on the northeast corner of Hoover Park Drive and Hwy. 48, across from Boston Pizza, which is also owned by Corebridge.

Following Emmerson’s visit to China to meet with business and export associations and government officials, Corebridge executives learned there was a pressing expectation from international buyers for more time efficient and cost effective supply chain services, according to Andrew Chan, project manager for Corebridge.

"...Redevelopment of the building is the best and quickest available option to satisfy the immediate demand,” Chan wrote in an email to The Sun-Tribune.

If successful, subsequent development will occur on the Hoover Park Drive/Hwy. 48 land, according to Chan.

He also noted the Main Street trade centre could add more than $1 million to Stouffville’s property tax base.

That does not include any spin-off money that comes to town due to increased business activity the trade centre generates.

A wholesale trade centre is where businesses conduct business with other businesses.

It is not like Markham’s Pacific Mall or any other retail outlet open to the public, Councillor Clyde Smith and Emmerson said.

“Some people want to mislead the public because it’s an election year,” Emmerson said during last week’s council meeting.

“It’s a legitimate business use that generates jobs,” said Smith.

One resident not impressed with the proposed design of the trade centre’s exterior is mayoral candidate Arnold Neufeldt-Fast.

He told councillors the proposed design lowers the bar for future Main Street buildings.

Business executives and Yiwu government officials paid for everything work-related while Emmerson was in Yiwu. However, he will bill the municipality the cost of his economy seat airfare, which, he said, is between $1,200 and $1,300.

“I sat here for 17 years and stand behind everything I did, including my trip to Yiwu,” he said.