The Side Launch section, where newly built ships were launched for more than 100 years, will form part of a public promenade in front of a three-storey condo building.
By Jim Adair
In the mid-1800s, the fastest way for someone to get to Western Canada from Ontario was via the town of Collingwood. More than 4,000 passengers went to the town by rail in 1858 alone, and then sailed on steamers through the Great Lakes.
Situated on Georgian Bay, part of Lake Huron, Collingwood became an important shipbuilding centre, first for wooden skiffs and schooners and later for steel cargo and passenger steamers. At one point, in a town of less than 5,000, there were 1,000 people employed at the shipyards.
The shipyards operated for more than 130 years, and as author Christine E. Cowley writes in her book Butchers, Bakers & Building the Lakers, “Memories still abound of the days when the name Collingwood was synonymous with the Great Lakes and the lakers that ruled their waters.”
One of those memories is that of Ted Prokopec, quoted in Cowley’s book: “I remember the day the shipyard closed because we were out on a friend’s boat…I knew it was going to be the last day of the shipyards, but the whistle came unexpectedly. We were just pulling out of the inner harbour and the whistle blew. It was very sad. Everything seemed to go quiet. Those of us who were from Collingwood heard it and we knew it was the last whistle. It was like a funeral march was going by and out of respect we bowed our heads and we didn’t say anything to each other, we all just understood. It was sad; you could just feel the sadness in the air.”
That was Sept. 12, 1986. For more than 20 years, the abandoned shipyards sat on the Collingwood waterfront with an uncertain future as owners Canada Steamship Lines considered what to do with the site. Meanwhile, Collingwood and vicinity adapted to the loss of the shipyards and became better known as a four-seasons vacation destination. Skiing at Blue Mountain started attracting the attention of developers, highlighted by Intrawest’s creation of The Village at Blue development. Summer activities including golf, hiking, and water sports continue to attract vacationers from all over the province.
Finally, in 2004, the former shipyards site was purchased by FRAM Building Group and Slokker Real Estate with plans to redevelop the site. It has taken years of environmental assessments and remediation, approvals from all levels of government and building up goodwill within the town, but finally The Shipyards are being reborn.
The master-planned community will include about 600 homes, with condominium townhouses, bungalows, live/work residences and mid-rise condo buildings. The development will also offer retail shops and a restaurant, as well as a fitness centre with an indoor pool.
Prices range roughly from $300,000 to $900,000 for the townhomes, and start at $229,900 for the condo apartments.
The Shipyards are a European-inspired development with 600 homes in a pedestrian village. In this artist’s rendering, the Collingwood Terminals are seen in the background.
When completed, the site will include a waterfront promenade to make the shoreline accessible to everyone. A seawall was built on the western portion of the site to protect the shoreline and beach from erosion, and this forms the edge of a waterfront park. Crushed stone, wood and steel were recycled and used on site to create a seven-acre greenspace that will serve as a public park, with recreational activities and a community amphitheatre. The park also connects to hiking trails and ultimately to the Georgian Trail.
A wetlands nature preserve and fish spawning habitat has been created in the harbour in front of the park.
The Shipyards was recently named Best Large-Scale Project by the Canadian Urban Institute at the 9th annual Brownie Awards in Vancouver. The award recognizes leadership, innovation and environmental sustainability in brownfield development.
Bruce Kerr, president of Slokker Canada, says The Shipyards is “almost a mirror image” of another successful FRAM/Slokker collaboration, the redevelopment of the former St. Lawrence Starch plant in Port Credit (Mississauga), Ont. That development has a lot in common with the Collingwood site – it reopened public access to the waterfront by redeveloping an old industrial site, and connected the new community to the existing commercial section of Port Credit.
Kerr notes that the developments form bookends at the end of provincial Highway 10 – one at the south end and one at the north terminus of the highway.
Kerr says that the long process of planning and getting approvals for the site gave the developers lots of time to involve residents in the process, and he says most in the town are happy that something positive has finally happened to the old shipyards.
The developers believe that aging baby boomers, who are looking for a retirement or a vacation home, are their prime market. Many of the units are designed so that owners’ children and grandchildren can come and visit and enjoy their own spaces. Some units come with lofts that are complexly self-contained, including room for a separate bar fridge and microwave.
The largest of the townhouses have four bedrooms plus a “retreat”. Two- and three-bedroom units are also available.
The developers have built ample parking facilities into the site, with covered parking and up to four spaces available for some units.
Sotheby’s International Realty is marketing the project, and offers 2.5 per cent commissions for co-operating sales reps. To book an appointment at The Shipyards sales centre, call 1-877-446-2626.
Transportation to The Shipyards was provided to REM by the developers
