THUNDER BAY – City Administration are planning the next steps for Prince Arthur’s Landing, and the marina development. City Administration will prepare a report to City Council for early fall to outline options for the Phase 2 development of Prince Arthur’s Landing given new information regarding the Environmental Assessment (EA) of the tugboat basin. The discovery of a sunken barge in the basin that is estimated will cost about $1 million to find out what other issues could be present had some wondering what next steps are coming. City Council was advised by memo today of the plan coming forward by Administration.
In 2005, as part of the Prince Arthur’s Landing Master Plan, the vision for Phase 2 was a 300-slip Marina expansion in the tugboat basin. In order to move the project beyond the vision phase, the first requirement was to perform an EA of the project’s impact as required by the Province of Ontario.
As part of the EA process, a marine archeological assessment has identified items located in the water including a sunken barge filled with concrete, a dock constructed in 1882, crib work/bumpers associated with the elevator dock and a small concrete wharf on shore. These items of ‘archeological interest,’ as determined by the EA, have resulted in administration putting the EA on hold until it is determined how these items may impact the costing of the Phase 2 project that still requires the approval of Council to proceed.
Since 2005, the province’s regulatory environment has changed and a costly, four-phase EA will now need to be completed to move forward with the marina expansion. This, coupled with the yet to be determined costs to deal with the items of archeological interest, will require a significant expenditure. This will need to be looked into further by Administration before final recommendations can be made.
“While we still believe that an expansion of the Marina is justified given the current and projected demand for boating slips, the City may have to alter how that is to be accomplished at Prince Arthur’s Landing given the recent findings,” said Tim Commisso, City Manager.
Administration will consider the options available for Phase 2 and present those to the Waterfront Development Committee and City Council for consideration in the fall.