At this time, executive consultants that I had been working with made me aware that one of the partners still in the bidding process may be able to partner with our initiative.  They did not need the entire building for their vision and neither did I to start with. 

A potentially perfect match was about to be made.  

To my knowledge, what started as a bidding process of about 12 or 20 participants quickly dropped down to a mere 3 or 4.  I waited patiently for my partnering company to give me updates regarding the bidding process.  Weeks passed and I heard nothing.  Then out of nowhere I received a call from the press who had found out about our partnership.  To this day, I do not know how this happened. I know the leak did not come from my team because only two people (even in my executive committee) knew about our strategic development at the time.  Somehow word got out.  The gracious reporter asked for my permission to run the story or at minimum make an official statement but I was bound by the trust with my partner to not disclose any happenings at this level.  I regretfully declined.  From there, the bidding process continued behind the scenes.  To my knowledge, that reporter did not run the story. I truly applaud the courage, passion and conviction of that reporter and all of the reporters that move with such integrity and grace. 

The Plot Thickens:

I found myself still waiting for news regarding the bidding process while trying to keep my remaining investors up to date.  The large international investor shared a one-hour call with me and he urged me to design a newly expanded project.  In earnest, he said the original project was a little small from them and they were nearly ready to move funds into the project.
I asked him what the “financial ceiling” would be and informed him that if I were to build something from scratch, I could easily blow beyond $12 million. His reply to me was to build a plan that fully facilitates the long-term vision / dream of the project and we can work backward from there.

I took him at his word and started to build a much larger plan while waiting on the bidding process to conclude. Worst-case scenarie, I could build a long-term plan that would develop well beyond my personal life-expectancy but will impact the region in almost un-measurable ways.  The end plan became uncomfortably big.  I am used to thinking big, but this project was now monumental!  What also caused me discomfort about this aspect of the project, was that the project had become so large that only this single investor would be able to facilitate it.  I built the plan none-the-less and it is presently sitting on my hard drive only to be disclosed to select individuals. 

Needless to say, it is HUGE!  How huge?  Well, when I brought the floor plan to the region’s largest and most respected builder, (the same builder that was to renovate Central once we acquired it), they called me within hours and said:

“Damian can you check your scale”?

“Yes” I replied.

“According to our calculations, the first floor alone is over 1 million square feet. " they stated.

“Sounds about right abut I will double check my figures." was the general essence of my response.

“There are large hospitals with a smaller footprint than that.  We might not be able to build it as a company. It may take upwards of one year just to lay the cement pad." They replied.

Yes, the project was that big.  It would take a year just for the traffic impact studies, soil studies, and so on.  A year to lay the pad, a year to build the frame, and a year to start renovating the inside.  Simcoe County was not ready for a statement of this size as of yet but I was asked to build a long-term plan. Given the growth rate of the region, this was a reasonable long-term plan from my point of view.  It would draw an international reach right from the start.  We would be building a “Walt Disney World” for the arts right here in Central Ontario. This newly expanded project really gave the investor what they wanted. 

I took the suggestion of this builder to contact a larger builder that could turn-key the entire project.  I still greatly trusted our local builder to advise the process but the eventual order of magnitude was just too big.  I will spare you from the details of the details of the project at this time but what I will say is that the plan is awe inspiring for every executive I share it with.  I look forward to delivering this plan to you Simcoe County. 

Back to the immediate though.  Time to read on.