New design, new location, more controversy at Port Elgin waterfront

There’s a new plan to try and bring Cedar Crescent Village from drawings to reality.

“Cedar Crescent Village is a project we gave initial approval to back in 2019, if you can believe it. For all sorts of reasons, it hasn’t started construction yet,” says Saugeen Shores Mayor Luke Charbonneau.

Charbonneau is a supporter of the public-private partnership to bring the waterfront complex featuring restaurants, shops, and market space to Port Elgin. After fearing the project wouldn’t get regulatory approval back in November, the project was reduced in size, and moved further away from Port Elgin’s shoreline.

“We’ve set off a new design, and slightly changed location, and that’s hopefully going to let us get through this regulatory process, and onto construction,” says Charbonneau.

Hopefully not, says Port Elgin resident Patricia Frank, who says the town is trying to push this project through without proper studies and public input.

Recently, boreholes were used from the previous site to get water permits for construction on the new site, about 30 metres away.

“We still feel this is dynamic beach. We feel it needs to be protected, and that de-watering has to be done properly,” says Frank, founder of the Port Elgin Beach Preservers group.

Cedar Crescent Village was supposed to be up and running by now. The new target opening date is August 2023.

“They want to have a permit in April, and to start digging. And yet, there have been so many mistakes made along the way, in terms of permits and reports, it just causes real concern,” says Frank.

“There’s one more approval that has to be made at council, which will come up soon, and once that’s done, construction will get underway,” says Charbonneau.