Current Status:
On June 19, Council approved the Town project team to enter into the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Streetcar & Dream. The MOU is non-binding. It sets the foundation for future negotiations of any legal agreements and will help streamline the process.
Next Step:
Fall 2023: Public consultation to inform the plans and final designs for the Terminals and the surrounding public lands. Stay tuned for more details.
Four names (Terminals Point, The Spit, The Harbourlands, The Portlands) were shortlisted as options to rename this unique area that is home to the Collingwood Grain Terminals and the surrounding spit land on Heritage Drive. The survey closed October 20th, the new project name will be announced soon!
Highlights: Streetcar & Dream proposed vision
The final decision for the design of the Terminals and public areas will be highly informed by community input. However, Streetcar & Dream’s proposed vision includes the following highlights (refer to Concept Photos):
- Redeveloping Heritage Drive into four distinct areas that link together.
- Preserving and revitalizing the Terminals into a full-service hotel with restaurants and event spaces.
- Adding a residential condominium to the east of the Terminals.
- Creating public access to the top “bin floor” for views of Georgian Bay and downtown Collingwood.
- Enhancing the community’s access to the shoreline and water, creating new trails and walkways, lookouts and boardwalks.
- Creating space for shops.
- Transforming the Collingwood Harbour marine area.
About the project
The Collingwood Grain Terminals have a long history in our community. They are highly prominent and iconic. They have been unused since 1993, and for years, many have been wondering about their future.
Since 2019, Town Council has been taking action to consider the options to revitalize the Terminals. The costs for the Town to revitalize the Terminals are more than taxpayers can afford. As such, Council approved entering into a private-sector partnership, which opens the door for the Town to do more for the community. It achieve three critical goals:
- It ensures the Town maintains ownership of the majority of the lands.
- It gives the Town authority to set expectations and hold private partners to account.
- It brings greater value for taxpayers’ dollars because it leverages private investment to upgrade and enhance public spaces and meet community needs.
Based on community input, Council approved a set of 16 Guiding Principles to form the basis of a partnership. In 2021, Town staff went to tender to find a potential partner to work with the Town on the revitalization project.
In August 2022, Streetcar and Dream was chosen as the successful company for this partnership because their proposed vision has the greatest alignment with the Guiding Principles.
