GRAIN TERMINALS REVITALIZATION PROJECT MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU) UPDATE

At the June 5th, 2023, meeting, the Committee of the Whole will receive Staff Report CCS2023-03 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) – Grain Terminals Revitalization Project, seeking direction for staff to execute the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Streetcar & Dream (Grain Terminals Revitalization Inc.)

"The partnership between the Town, Streetcar & Dream opens the door for us to do more for the community," says Amanda Pegg, Executive Director, Customer & Corporate Services. "It achieves the three critical goals including: Ensuring the Town maintains ownership of the majority of the lands, it gives the Town authority to set expectations and brings greater value for taxpayers' dollars as it leverages private investment to upgrade and enhance public spaces and meet community needs."

Town Staff have been working with Streetcar & Dream in a collaborative manner to protect the Town and public interest and ensure the Guiding Principles remain at the forefront of the negotiation process.

Although the MOU in its entirety remains confidential, through mutual agreement, the Town and the proponent have agreed to release specific business terms that the parties deem are of high interest and importance to the community. The MOU is a nonbinding document that will provide a foundation for future negotiations of the binding Agreements.

Pending Council approval to proceed with the execution of the MOU, Town Staff will proceed with the next phases of the project. This will include planning for initial community engagement and consultation with an intention of beginning active engagement in 2023. In addition, the proponent and the Town will begin to negotiate and complete the required binding agreements. Additional investigative work on the Terminals and the surrounding lands will commence, as appropriate and will support the required land use planning applications to facilitate the redevelopment. Public input and the findings from the additional investigative work will be critical in informing the design of the final concept for the lands, which will be subject to Council decisions under the Planning Act.
Key Points:

The MOU includes the sale of a surface area of approximately 0.2 acres of the spit lands by the Town to the proponent. This land sale would accommodate the proposed residential development.
The remaining spit lands (approximately 19.8 acres) would remain under the ownership of the Town.
The MOU includes a long term (life lease) land lease of an approximate 0.8 acres by the Town to the proponent. This land lease would accommodate the revitalization of the silos to create the hotel and other public amenities contained within.
The Town’s financial commitment to the project is based on the amounts included in the Town’s Ten-Year Capital Plan. The Present Value of the costs to the Town (discounted at 5% to 2022 dollars - at time of proposal submission) is $15,055,777.
The MOU highlights the significant value that the public engagement and consultation process has on the overall project vision for the public areas. The MOU ensures commitment from both the Town and the proponent to ensure a robust and meaningful process. Both the Town and the proponent will lead components of this engagement. The Town will have leadership over the public space engagements.

The Staff Report will be presented to the Committee of the Whole at their June 5th meeting, then will proceed to Council June 19th. View Staff Report: CCS2023-03 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) – Grain Terminals Revitalization Project

To contact members of Council with comments or concerns, please visit the Council page for contact information: https://www.collingwood.ca/council