$50M Sarnia, Ont. waterfront redevelopment project creates 'destination hotspot': Mayor
A $50-million project designed to turn Sarnia’s waterfront into a destination tourist attraction has strong initial support.
Sarnia city councillors unanimously voted to send a 147-page master plan on to to budget deliberations.
The detailed report shows a multi-stage 15-year project to redevelop Sarnia’s waterfront abutting the downtown.
It includes a wish list of 34 enhancements, including a waterfront promenade, a market building, a harbour building and a floating boardwalk.
All will be publicly accessible and completed in three distinct areas, complementing existing features created by the project.
Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley says the goal is to turn the waterfront into a space utilized by locals and a destination for visitors.
“I see it no different as what you see with Harbourfront in Toronto and what you used to see with Ontario Place. People identify it and they go there and that’s what we want to see. We want to see that mixed-use.”
An artist concept of a new market building along the waterfront in Sarnia, Ont. (Source: City of Sarnia)
Sarnia Councillor Brian White gave the highest praise to the project calling it, “...probably one of the most brilliant documents I’ve read…from an environmental standpoint, from an engineering standpoint, a revenue generation standpoint and a focus on active transportation.”
But Bradley concedes the $50-million price tag is not achievable solely through public dollars.
So, in the hopes of not seeing the proposal sputter, as London’s Back to the River Project at the forks of the Thames did, he’s pleased the report has a public and private sector component to help pay for it.
“And, there is linkage now, but not to the degree there should be, so I see that private sector involvement as being a big part of that.”
The report clearly identifies four parcels of city-owned land adjacent or nearby the waterfront that planners contend could be sold to build residential towers with commercial space on the mezzanine.
Bradley says services and amenities are the keys to making the waterfront a year-round attraction.
An artist conception of a winter skating loop around the waterfront in Sarnia, Ont. (Source: City of Sarnia)
To that point, a major project includes the construction of a skating trail along the waterfront during the winter months.
With all the cards in place, and seemingly a path to paying for a new look waterfront, Bradley says it's crucial council support remains solid into the future.
“The obligation will be on every mayor and council to move it one step forward over these next 15 years. I think that’s going to happen.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.