Port now City property
As of June 2016, the Port of Cornwall, located at the foot of Edward Street, will be co-owned by the City of Cornwall and the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne. — photo Francis Racine
Revitalization Project, was presented to the community by the now defunct Groupe Renaissance, three years ago. The initiative was to launch the redevelopment of Cornwall Harbour, located in the historic Cotton Mills District of Le Village BIA, in order to allow it to become a popular mixed-use destination for residents and visitors alike. This project proposes that the existing 45,000 square feet metal storage building be converted into a 60,000 square feet commercial, cultural, artistic, and natural destination. Utilizing parts of the existing structure, the architectural plan integrates a complete renovation of the building and its surrounding area. Through this adaptive re-use project, Groupe Renaissance and its partners hoped that the harbour could be transformed into a vibrant attraction for Cornwall and a destination for St. Lawrence Seaway visitors. Although the project seems to have been shelved, the Port of Cornwall may very well still yield the City with much needed waterfront opportunities.
the elected officials of both communities and it will be released to the public once it is officially signed by both parties. “By taking ownership of the port, we will be able to control the future use of a critical piece of waterfront land,” said Cornwall mayor Leslie O’Shaughnessy. “This significant achievement signals a new era of cooperation and collaboration between Cornwall and our neighbours in Akwesasne.” The agreement marks the culmination of numerous meetings and negotiation sessions involving officials from the City, Akwesasne and the Federal Government, over the past two years. Consultants have been engaged in conducting significant analysis of the Port lands. “I am pleased by the efforts of the negotiation committee thus far, and I look forward to working closer with our neighbours, the City of Cornwall, said Akwesasne Grand Chief Abram Benedict. This transfer will demonstrate our commitment to finding innovative ways of creating opportunities for both our communities.” “The bilateral committee is doing its due diligence to ensure our communities are
well-positioned in this divestiture, while also being mindful of the need to take control of this key piece of land,” added O’Shaughnessy. An important part of Cornwall’s history The Cornwall Port area, located at the foot of Edward Street, played a vital part in Cornwall’s growth. Improvements, which began in the late 1950s, resulted in a fully serviced port of entry harbour. In 1956, the Seaway was built and it was decided then that Cornwall would have a port about one kilometer in length, to accommodate shipping and receiving for local factories. The port was established in 1962 and opened in 1967. The harbour was initially used to receive supplies for companies such as Courtaulds, Domtar Fine Papers, ICI Industries and other companies that had located in the Cotton Mills Area. Today, the warehouse at the bottom of Edward Street continues to receive and store material, for local companies, that mostly arrives by seaway transport. The port’s occasional use is by navy frigates and tall ships. Redeveloping the land A project, dubbed the Cornwall Harbour
FRANCIS RACINE francis.racine@eap.on.ca
A valuable parcel of waterfront land will now be co-owned by the City of Cornwall. Ownership of the Port of Cornwall, owned for a number of years by the federal government through Transport Canada, will be transferred in the hands of the City and the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne (MCA) in June. A bilateral committee, made up of staff and elected officials from the City andMCA, has been negotiating with Transport Canada on the divestiture and the surrounding lands. The specific terms of the deal with Transport Canada cannot be released at the current time due to a standard confidentiality agreement; however, the details will be shared once the transfer is completed. At the same time, a joint public entity, called the Cornwall Akwesasne Port Development Commission, is being established to oversee themanagement and long-term development of the port under the umbrella of a co-owners’ agreement. This agreement has also been approved by
Le Journal, Cornwall
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Le mercredi 4 mai 2016
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