The owner of the Lord Elgin Hotel has offered the city $2 million to move a proposed LRT station from the Byward Market to near the National Arts Centre and Confederation Square.
In a letter to city council, Jeff Gillin offered $200,000 over 10 years to offset the cost of building the station.
The city had originally planned to have a station under the Rideau Canal, with a western entrance next to the NAC. However, this plan was changed two weeks ago when the station was moved east to Rideau and Waller streets.
The relocation of the entrance to the market was done to keep the project on budget, said Lowertown Coun. Mathieu Fleury.
He added it is a shallower excavation than what would be required at the NAC site.
This relocation was intended to be approved on March 28, but Gillin asked city councillors to delay the vote for 30 days while he and the NAC look for more contributions.
Some business owners in the area are happy to hear of Gillin’s offer.
“We support it and we look forward to exploring it further it the next week,” said Keith Loiselle, owner of Woody’s, a restaurant on Elgin Street.
Loiselle has recently been pushing business owners on Elgin Street to form a Business Improvement Area so there would be one collective voice for businesses when working with city council.
Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes has also objected to the relocation of the LRT station to the market.