Yeah, there is development here! Not much though... First is a story about the blob, then a proposal for the Pool 6 property.
Thunder Bay Harbour blob-free
By stephanie maclellan
Sep 21, 2005, 20:13
(LINK)
After an extensive clean-up effort that took eight years of work and more than $20 million to complete, the infamous blob is officially gone from Thunder Bay Harbour.
And the coalition behind the project, the Northern Wood Preservers Alternative Remediation Concept (NOWPARC), says new measures put in place to stop contaminants from leaching into Lake Superior should stop it from ever happening again.
“This is a solution that’s going to last forever, as far as we know,” said Michael Innes, who headed the project’s steering committee.
The so-called blob was comprised of accumulated creosote, which leached into the water near what is now the Northern Wood Preservers site. It was formed over decades of industrial use at the site, including railway tie treatment.
It became one of the two most contaminated sites on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes, along with Hamilton Harbour. If it wasn’t fixed, the contamination could have spread throughout the harbour and damaged the ecosystem, said Roger Santiago, a sediment remediation specialist with Environment Canada who was on the project’s technical committee.
The site was identified as an area of concern in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1985. It took 12 years between then and the start of work on the project, caused partly by debate over which party was responsible for the clean-up.
Northern Wood, CN Railway and Abitibi Consolidated and its predecessors have all used the site.
“It was initially difficult to get off the ground, because of the long history of the site,” said Simon Llewellyn, the former regional director of Environment Canada and steering committee member. “You had to negotiate with people . . . but once the commitment was made, it went fairly well.”
The result was the NOWPARC project, a joint effort of the provincial and federal environment ministries and the three industrial groups.
“I think it was a realization that this was probably the only way it could get done, because trying to follow a legal (debate) wasn’t going to solve the problem,” Llewellyn said.
Work on the site started in 1997. The most highly contaminated sediment — about 11,000 cubic metres — was shipped to B.C. for treatment. The rest was contained in a berm, or left to recover naturally.
The project added clean fill to develop plant life and fish habitats; a steel barrier on Northern Wood property to prevent leaching; a new drainage system to make groundwater flow away from the lake; and a water treatment plant to clean water collected in the system before it’s returned to the lake.
The project was years behind schedule, and the budget was more than twice as high as expected. It ballooned from $9.3 million to $20 million.
That was because the sediment was more contaminated than anticipated, which meant a switch to a more costly thermal treatment, Santiago said.
And as the original clay containment barrier was monitored, it was determined that contaminants could potentially leach into the lake, he said. To prevent that, a steel barrier was built.
That added another $2 million to the price tag, Innes said, but it was worth it because the barrier is considered impermeable.
“We weren’t doing a short-term project,” he said. “We weren’t going to come back to fix anything.”
The bulk of the work was completed by 2003, with final details completed earlier this year. Monitoring of the water is ongoing.
At a ceremony Tuesday, NOWPARC was lauded as an environmental success, and an example of what can be accomplished if private and government groups work together.
“The benefit is the environment’s protected, it’s cleared up,” Llewellyn said. “The lessons we’ve learned here, we can try to apply to Hamilton.”
© Copyright by Chronicle Journal.com
____
Story number two is some positive news:
New option for Waterfront
By jim kelly
Sep 21, 2005, 17:36
(LINK)
Architect Cory Stechysyn with a scale model and drawing of the proposed Great Lakes Heritage Centre on the former Pool 6 site after a presentation Tuesday in Thunder Bay.
Architect Cory Stechysyn wants people to realize that the Thunder Bay waterfront really defines the city.
That’s why his proposal for a Great Lakes Heritage Centre on the former Pool 6 elevator site recognizes “the unique characteristics of the waterfront environment, the local heritage, history and culture.”
Stechysyn said Tuesday he believes such a building will serve the community, region and visitors.
The 300,000-square-foot building (which includes an 80,000-square-foot parkade) will cost about $60 million.
Stechysyn’s colleague John Stephenson said the project could cost as little as $20 million or as much as $100 million.
The plan was unveiled Tuesday.
About 250 waterfront stakeholders were invited to view the project Tuesday evening by architectural firm Kuch, Stephenson, Gibson and Malo where Stechysyn has been employed for the past 18 years.
The heritage centre would have an indoor market place, tourist information centre, restaurant, auditorium and parkade similar to the one at the Water Street Ontario Government Building.
Stechysyn said he’s aware of previous failed ventures on the waterfront, but he’s excited about his project.
“I’ve studied the old reports,” he said.
“Those were primarily private investments. That can be a risky venture especially if the investors are from outside the city.
“This one recognizes private and public funding,” Stechysyn said.
Stephenson, who described the project as “hypothetical,” said the hope at the very least is to stimulate discussion.
“It proposes a public use for a key piece of the waterfront. It’s grass-root based.
“We just want to get people thinking about this project.”
Stechysyn’s most memorable work has been at Fort William Historical Park, Our Lady of Charity School and the Sleeping Giant Visitor’s Centre.
The proposal will be available for public viewing today and Thursday at the Prince Arthur Hotel, 2-7 p.m. both days.
© Copyright by Chronicle Journal.com
____
If the picture works, that stick-like thingy beside his head is a sculpture I think it looks kinda neat. I invisioned a taller building for that property, but the design is very original, and he's a local architect.
Also, city council has another South Core renewal Plan (I think this is the sixth in ten years, no?)
Renewal Plan gets warm reception
Tb News Source (LINK)
Web Posted: 9/20/2005 3:39:52 PM
An proposed overhaul of the South Core Neighbourhood Renewal Plan is getting a warm reception from some south core businesses.
Members of the Victoria Avenue Business Improvement Association want council to begin to implement the plan before the 2006 budget discussions. Business owner Diane Petryna says despite the lengthy planning process, it is time to move forward.
City council approved the report in principle, but did hold back on one provision.... that the proposed new Thunder Bay courthouse be built in the area. Councillors chose to defer that issue to a later date, to gain more public input. ...
The Superior Court (Camelot Street, Downtown PA) and Ontario Court of Justice (Arthur Street) are to be consolidated into one building. The Majority of supporters say it should be build in one of the downtown cores, instead of Inter-City, because it would help revitalise the cores. There is a good chance it will be build on the front lawn of the Superior Court, at the corner of Court and Camelot. There would be a walkway linking it to the old building. If approved, it will see the construction of a new office building, which would be a the first to be built in a downtown core since 1989's Provincial government Building.
There are also numerous condos and "Old Folks Homes"-ish developments going on around town, but their boring. Though a 4 storey condo was built on the site of Pine Street School.
Thunder Bay Harbour blob-free
By stephanie maclellan
Sep 21, 2005, 20:13
(LINK)
After an extensive clean-up effort that took eight years of work and more than $20 million to complete, the infamous blob is officially gone from Thunder Bay Harbour.
And the coalition behind the project, the Northern Wood Preservers Alternative Remediation Concept (NOWPARC), says new measures put in place to stop contaminants from leaching into Lake Superior should stop it from ever happening again.
“This is a solution that’s going to last forever, as far as we know,” said Michael Innes, who headed the project’s steering committee.
The so-called blob was comprised of accumulated creosote, which leached into the water near what is now the Northern Wood Preservers site. It was formed over decades of industrial use at the site, including railway tie treatment.
It became one of the two most contaminated sites on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes, along with Hamilton Harbour. If it wasn’t fixed, the contamination could have spread throughout the harbour and damaged the ecosystem, said Roger Santiago, a sediment remediation specialist with Environment Canada who was on the project’s technical committee.
The site was identified as an area of concern in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1985. It took 12 years between then and the start of work on the project, caused partly by debate over which party was responsible for the clean-up.
Northern Wood, CN Railway and Abitibi Consolidated and its predecessors have all used the site.
“It was initially difficult to get off the ground, because of the long history of the site,” said Simon Llewellyn, the former regional director of Environment Canada and steering committee member. “You had to negotiate with people . . . but once the commitment was made, it went fairly well.”
The result was the NOWPARC project, a joint effort of the provincial and federal environment ministries and the three industrial groups.
“I think it was a realization that this was probably the only way it could get done, because trying to follow a legal (debate) wasn’t going to solve the problem,” Llewellyn said.
Work on the site started in 1997. The most highly contaminated sediment — about 11,000 cubic metres — was shipped to B.C. for treatment. The rest was contained in a berm, or left to recover naturally.
The project added clean fill to develop plant life and fish habitats; a steel barrier on Northern Wood property to prevent leaching; a new drainage system to make groundwater flow away from the lake; and a water treatment plant to clean water collected in the system before it’s returned to the lake.
The project was years behind schedule, and the budget was more than twice as high as expected. It ballooned from $9.3 million to $20 million.
That was because the sediment was more contaminated than anticipated, which meant a switch to a more costly thermal treatment, Santiago said.
And as the original clay containment barrier was monitored, it was determined that contaminants could potentially leach into the lake, he said. To prevent that, a steel barrier was built.
That added another $2 million to the price tag, Innes said, but it was worth it because the barrier is considered impermeable.
“We weren’t doing a short-term project,” he said. “We weren’t going to come back to fix anything.”
The bulk of the work was completed by 2003, with final details completed earlier this year. Monitoring of the water is ongoing.
At a ceremony Tuesday, NOWPARC was lauded as an environmental success, and an example of what can be accomplished if private and government groups work together.
“The benefit is the environment’s protected, it’s cleared up,” Llewellyn said. “The lessons we’ve learned here, we can try to apply to Hamilton.”
© Copyright by Chronicle Journal.com
____
Story number two is some positive news:
New option for Waterfront
By jim kelly
Sep 21, 2005, 17:36
(LINK)
Architect Cory Stechysyn with a scale model and drawing of the proposed Great Lakes Heritage Centre on the former Pool 6 site after a presentation Tuesday in Thunder Bay.
Architect Cory Stechysyn wants people to realize that the Thunder Bay waterfront really defines the city.
That’s why his proposal for a Great Lakes Heritage Centre on the former Pool 6 elevator site recognizes “the unique characteristics of the waterfront environment, the local heritage, history and culture.”
Stechysyn said Tuesday he believes such a building will serve the community, region and visitors.
The 300,000-square-foot building (which includes an 80,000-square-foot parkade) will cost about $60 million.
Stechysyn’s colleague John Stephenson said the project could cost as little as $20 million or as much as $100 million.
The plan was unveiled Tuesday.
About 250 waterfront stakeholders were invited to view the project Tuesday evening by architectural firm Kuch, Stephenson, Gibson and Malo where Stechysyn has been employed for the past 18 years.
The heritage centre would have an indoor market place, tourist information centre, restaurant, auditorium and parkade similar to the one at the Water Street Ontario Government Building.
Stechysyn said he’s aware of previous failed ventures on the waterfront, but he’s excited about his project.
“I’ve studied the old reports,” he said.
“Those were primarily private investments. That can be a risky venture especially if the investors are from outside the city.
“This one recognizes private and public funding,” Stechysyn said.
Stephenson, who described the project as “hypothetical,” said the hope at the very least is to stimulate discussion.
“It proposes a public use for a key piece of the waterfront. It’s grass-root based.
“We just want to get people thinking about this project.”
Stechysyn’s most memorable work has been at Fort William Historical Park, Our Lady of Charity School and the Sleeping Giant Visitor’s Centre.
The proposal will be available for public viewing today and Thursday at the Prince Arthur Hotel, 2-7 p.m. both days.
© Copyright by Chronicle Journal.com
____
If the picture works, that stick-like thingy beside his head is a sculpture I think it looks kinda neat. I invisioned a taller building for that property, but the design is very original, and he's a local architect.
Also, city council has another South Core renewal Plan (I think this is the sixth in ten years, no?)
Renewal Plan gets warm reception
Tb News Source (LINK)
Web Posted: 9/20/2005 3:39:52 PM
An proposed overhaul of the South Core Neighbourhood Renewal Plan is getting a warm reception from some south core businesses.
Members of the Victoria Avenue Business Improvement Association want council to begin to implement the plan before the 2006 budget discussions. Business owner Diane Petryna says despite the lengthy planning process, it is time to move forward.
City council approved the report in principle, but did hold back on one provision.... that the proposed new Thunder Bay courthouse be built in the area. Councillors chose to defer that issue to a later date, to gain more public input. ...
The Superior Court (Camelot Street, Downtown PA) and Ontario Court of Justice (Arthur Street) are to be consolidated into one building. The Majority of supporters say it should be build in one of the downtown cores, instead of Inter-City, because it would help revitalise the cores. There is a good chance it will be build on the front lawn of the Superior Court, at the corner of Court and Camelot. There would be a walkway linking it to the old building. If approved, it will see the construction of a new office building, which would be a the first to be built in a downtown core since 1989's Provincial government Building.
There are also numerous condos and "Old Folks Homes"-ish developments going on around town, but their boring. Though a 4 storey condo was built on the site of Pine Street School.