Waterfront corporation in the works
May 20, 2010
Meredith Macleod
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/772188
Now that the city has laid out a broad vision for a bustling west harbour, the next step will be finding the money to make it happen.
It's expected to come from the public and private sectors, and partnerships between the two.
The city is working toward setting up an arm's length but municipally owned waterfront development corporation that would either develop land itself or facilitate deals.
A proposed mandate, governance structure and financing options will be presented to city councillors sometime this summer.
City councillors were presented with a master plan earlier this month. That has set in motion the process to include the vision in the city's official plan.
The project, estimated to cost about $143 million in public and private money, will cover the entire stretch of city-owned land from Bayfront Park to Pier 8. The plan calls for restaurants, cafes, shops, boat rentals, waterfront trails and many other amenities.
Chris Phillips, senior adviser in the planning and economic development department, has studied a range of waterfront development corporations in order to bring a report to council.
He said it would be an agency of the city with an independent board, much like HECFI or Horizon Utilities.
It would work in conjunction with the Hamilton Waterfront Trust, says Phillips, which focuses on recreational uses and public access.
Councillor Chad Collins, chairperson of the HWT, says the development corporation should focus on leveraging action at the waterfront deeper into the neighbourhoods surrounding it.
He says the city and the trust regularly get inquiries from private investors willing to sink money into the waterfront.
"Those lands at the water's edge will go no problem. They'll be automatic. It's the properties a block from the waterfront or with contamination that are not such an easy sell."
A development corporation is strongly endorsed by the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, says CEO John Dolbec.
"It's a fabulous way to move this issue forward and hopefully depoliticize some of this," he said.
Dolbec says there are tremendous opportunities for low-density, low-rise development such as small stores, restaurants and recreational services along the waterfront.
"The more opportunities you make for private-sector investment, the less comes out of the public purse," he said.
While there has been some suggestion the development corporation could include the downtown, Phillips says he thinks it best it concentrate on the waterfront.
"There is a long stretch of waterfront to look after. We could work with the (Hamilton) Port Authority on its lands, the Lake Ontario shoreline, Confederation Park and all the way down to Fifty Point," he said.