If the city is interested in the Hooligans property downtown, it comes with a price tag approaching $4 million.
At last week's general committee meeting, there was a very brief conversation about the city potentially purchasing the Dunlop Street East property, or at least talking about it.
No details around the potential acquisition were discussed at last Monday's meeting regarding 66 Dunlop St. E., which is located across from Memorial Square/Meridian Place and is currently Hooligans Restaurant.
Coun. Mike McCann, who had the item placed on the agenda, quickly withdrew it, citing the already heavy workload being experienced by senior staff at city hall.
Since that meeting, McCann told BarrieToday that it was initially the Hooligans ownership group which approached the city about a potential sale.
The site is currently listed for sale on MLS for $3.95 million. It was listed on Aug. 26.
Hooligans managing partner Adam Smith told BarrieToday that the Dunlop Street building has long been looked at by people wanting to own downtown property in a high-profile location.
“There are always people who are sniffing around and inquiring, and especially during the lockdown. We had more people sniffing around thinking there could be a fire sale or an opportunity,” Smith said.
“Over the 14 years for this location, there have been many changes: Meridian Square gets redone, Dunlop Street has been redone," he added. "People have realized this is a piece of property right in the middle of everything.”
While “everything is for sale for the right price,” Smith says the reason the ownership group has held onto it for so long is they love the location and the building.
Smith, a former Ward 1 councillor from 2003 to 2006, said some of the partners in the Hooligans group have all had various levels of involvement with city hall.
“Knowing the importance of this address and where it sits, is a bar or a restaurant the best use of that corner of Owen and Dunlop? Maybe it is, maybe it isn't,” Smith said. “But if there is true interest in regenerating downtown, especially coming out of this lockdown, we thought we’d just let the city know before we listed it.”
City of Barrie chief administrative officer Michael Prowse recused himself from any discussion at the Sept. 14 meeting because he said he has a "long-standing friendship" with the Hooligans ownership group. Prowse said it wasn't a pecuniary interest, but, "out of good judgment," he said it would be inappropriate to give a potential staff report final report if the matter advanced to that stage.
While any talk around a potential sale is on hold for now, McCann told BarrieToday he hopes to revisit the matter at some point.
The councillor says it could be beneficial to have the property in city hands, although it's unclear what the city would use the it for.
“I believe that this building, at the heart of our downtown, is a great opportunity now and in the future,” McCann said. “My focus is on stimulating our economy and recovering swiftly. We need Barrie residents to return to our downtown and anything we can do as a city to make downtown attractive should be our focus.”
Hooligans opened its indoor dining on Thursday, six months to the day since it closed due to the pandemic. The roof-top patio has been open since June 12, the first day they were allowed to open.
