A Tale of Two Landmarks

What does the future hold for the Collingwood Terminals and Nottawasaga Lighthouse?

by Marc Huminilowycz
photography by Doug Burlock

Collingwood has a wealth of historical buildings, many of which have been saved from the wrecking ball thanks to the diligent efforts of local residents. But there are two local icons that define Collingwood’s history more than any others –prominent, familiar, and beloved waterfront structures that have long stood as sentinels to Collingwood’s marine heritage: the Nottawasaga Lighthouse, once a beacon of warning to the ships approaching the harbour, and the Collingwood Terminals, which once stored grain from western Canada and the U.S. for shipment to market.

“Collingwood’s Lighthouse and the Terminals are true landmarks in Southern Georgian Bay, visible and instantly recognizable from several points across the region,” says Richard Lex, who actively promoted the protection of several downtown buildings over the years. (Lex and his wife, artist Anke Lex, renovated the Tremont Hotel and Enterprise-Bulletin buildings and helped turn Collingwood’s Simcoe Street into a local hub for arts and culture.) “They are icons of the region’s rich maritime and economic history, and should be preserved.”

Partially due to our harsh northern climate and partially to neglect, both the Nottawasaga Lighthouse and Collingwood Terminals have been slowly deteriorating over time. While the future of the Lighthouse looks secure thanks to the restoration efforts of a dedicated group of Collingwood citizens over the past few years, the Terminals face an uncertain future.

Nottawasaga Lighthouse

Collingwood’s Nottawasaga Lighthouse is a unique landmark in Ontario’s marine history, one of only six nearly identical “Imperial Towers” strategically built in the mid 1800s by Scottish stonemason John Brown on the shores of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay to accommodate the increase in commercial shipping traffic between the U.S. and Canada. The other five towers, still standing to this day, are at Cove Island off Tobermory, Griffith Island near Wiarton, Christian Island in Georgian Bay, Chantry Island off Southampton, and Point Clark Island south of Kincardine.

In 2004, when a lightning strike caused a massive piece of the Nottawasaga Lighthouse to break off, the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), responsible for the structure at the time, spent $230,000 to shore up and reinforce it as a temporary measure. Over the following years, however, the elements continued to take a toll, shortening hopes for the Lighthouse’s restoration.

Pursuing a lifelong passion, Robert Square decided to get involved in the preservation of lighthouses across Canada when he retired in Collingwood. With support from his local Member of Parliament, he was instrumental in developing the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act through Parks Canada. Next in Square’s sights was the preservation of the lighthouse right in his own backyard.

In 2012, Square and other concerned Collingwood residents formed the Nottawasaga Lighthouse Preservation Society (NLPS) with the goal of taking steps and raising funds to mitigate any further deterioration of the tower and eventually restore it to its former glory. In 2016, they received permission and assistance from Fisheries and Oceans to wrap the structure in weather-resistant material over a wooden framework.

“The government has been very cooperative with us,” says Square, happily announcing that this past summer, the DFO agreed to work with the NLPS to transfer ownership of the Lighthouse property to the organization. “Right now, we’re in the process of preparing submissions to the DFO, including a business plan, while the DFO is in the final stages of a required Indigenous land claim study,” Square explains.

A study of the Lighthouse interior commissioned by the NLPS identified a myriad of environmental clean-up issues, including lead paint and animal feces. “We’re pushing the government to complete this in the next year and a half, but we’re also open to accepting the tower in its current state, with the DFO contributing to the clean-up,” says Square.

Meanwhile, thanks to Square’s earlier efforts in establishing the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act, the Nottawasaga Lighthouse will receive an official “Heritage Lighthouse Canada” designation once the NLPS takes over ownership of the site, with funding for restoration likely coming from Parks Canada and “a couple of hundred thousand dollars” from the DFO.

The NLPS has also been successful in obtaining support and funding from the local community over the past several years, and the Town of Collingwood has thrown its support behind preserving the Lighthouse, highlighting it and the NLPS in various town-sponsored community events such as Sidelaunch Days and Whiskylicious.

Support for the Lighthouse has been flooding in from a variety of other sources, including substantial private and corporate donations as well as in-kind gifts of products and services required for the restoration, such as quarry stone, stone-cutting, lantern glazing and engineering expertise. “We have a good chunk of change in the bank, but we’re always looking for more,” says Square. The NLPS estimates that complete restoration of the tower will cost $2 million (including a 20 per cent contingency), assuming that the organization will have to pay the full cost. Funds will go toward the restoration of the Lighthouse (interior and exterior) and the Lighthouse keeper’s house, as well as the construction of a proper dock facility to offer safe access for construction personnel and future visitors.

“The Lighthouse lantern will be restored. The original prisms, made in France, still exist, but we don’t know where the original brass-framed lenses are,” says Square, noting that the lenses from Cove Island (in many pieces) are available, and that there is a company in Florida which still manufactures them.
Rick Crouch, the current chair of the NLPS, has lighthouses in his blood. His great-grandfather was the first lighthouse keeper at South Baymouth on Manitoulin Island. Envisioning the Nottawasaga Lighthouse as an ecotourism site, Crouch says protection of the local environment is part of the organization’s business plan.

As to the tower’s restoration, Crouch would prefer that his organization manage the job and receive reimbursement from the government. “We now have three private donors who have each contributed $50,000 to the project,” he says. “At this point we’re not being overly aggressive with fundraising. We need to get ownership of the Lighthouse first. Many people have told us that, once we secure ownership, others will line up to donate. There could be an opportunity for someone to fund the whole project or its different phases in exchange for naming rights.

“This is not a vision. It’s something that’s going to happen.”

Meanwhile, to commemorate the 160th anniversary of the first lighting of the Nottawasaga Lighthouse, the NLPS and the Town of Collingwood are working together to plan a “Re-lighting of the Lighthouse” event on November 30th.

Collingwood Terminals

While the Nottawasaga Lighthouse faces a bright future, the prognosis for the Collingwood Terminals is far less certain. The structure – strikingly visible across the water, from the top of Blue Mountain and approaching Collingwood from the south along County Road 124 – is in every sense an iconic landmark. Yet the opinions among Collingwood residents and politicians about what to do with it couldn’t be more polarized.

Built in 1929, the Collingwood Terminals building is the last prominent remnant of the town’s once thriving “twin engines of commerce”: agriculture and shipping. The stark and imposing early modernist structure houses a two-million-bushel grain elevator with massive bins 100 feet high and 22 feet in diameter. Grain service ceased in 1993, and the building, owned today by the Town of Collingwood, has been declared “surplus,” meaning it can be sold.
A recent engineering report on the structure, commissioned by the Town of Collingwood, identified four possible approaches to its future:

1. Full Remediation & Repair – Including environmental cleanup, roof replacement, concrete restoration, new windows and doors, interior upgrades and foundation work, for a cost of $8 million to $9.7 million;
2. Phased Remediation & Repair – Similar to the first option, but extended over a period of time. This would cost considerably more than the first option, due to further deterioration and inflation over the long term;
3. Abandoning the Facility – If nothing is done to at least remediate and repair the structure, this would ultimately lead to demolition by neglect;
4. Complete Demolition – At a cost of $5 million, the projected pricetag to tear down the Terminals building is almost half the cost of the remediation and repair option.

On one side of the debate about what to do with the Terminals is Collingwood resident John Wiggins, a retired advertising creative director and founder of Creemore Springs Brewery. If he had his way, the Terminals would be demolished to make way for a new arts and cultural complex on the site. Despite gazing at the historic structure every day from a large picture window in the living room of his Shipyards townhome, Wiggins has been advocating his “new and improved” vision for the site and would like nothing better than to see the “eyesore” razed to the ground.

“The bottom line is $10 million to keep it or $5 million to tear it down. By demolishing the structure, the town could spend the money saved on infrastructure,” he notes, adding he’s working to overcome the “preservation mindset.”

“You have to get over a basic hump. People like the status quo, calling it an icon,” he says. “Change is difficult but, in essence, we have a big hunk of concrete doing nothing. It’s really a monument to neglect. I would like to see a money gain versus a money drain.” Wiggins has named his idea of a cultural complex to replace the Terminals the “Collingwood Harbour Island Project” – using his artistic skills, he’s even come up with some drawings of what it could look like – and says he is gaining supporters for his idea. “I’ve been meeting with about 30 movers and shakers in town, and most heads are nodding in the right direction,” he says, adding the terminal site has real potential to be a world-class facility and a focal point for performing arts in Ontario.

“Collingwood is going to be something different in 20 years. Up to now, it’s been a blue-collar hockey town, but new people, aged 40 to 50-plus – affluent and educated – are coming here and they’re looking for cultural activities,” says Wiggins. “People today are more open to theatre than ever before. Look at how big the Toronto theatre scene is today. If Meaford Hall can do it, we can do it bigger, creating a facility that would be a major revenue-earning town attraction, perhaps even rivalling Stratford.”

In addition to a centrepiece glass structure theatre with six hundred seats, Wiggins envisions including a restaurant with a view along with a modern maritime museum (along the lines of the Ontario Science Centre) featuring interactive displays including a communications room with life-size keyboards spotlighting Morse code, calligraphy, waterways and shipbuilding.

Wiggins believes the project would require some sort of consortium between town council and the federal and provincial governments. “There are many steps required to get there, but this is an opportunity of a lifetime. It’s an ideal property on the Great Lakes,” he says.

Due to his age and ill health, Wiggins needed someone else to carry the torch for his idea. Enter Collingwood resident Charlie Gudaitis, with whom he has met on several occasions. Gudaitis, co-founder of the Southern Georgian Bay Music Foundation, is collaborating with the Georgian Triangle Lifelong Learning Institute (GTLLI), The Cinema Club, Theatre Collingwood and the Town of Collingwood to come up with the best solution for a self-sustaining performing arts centre that would benefit the whole region.

“In our conversations, we have asked, ‘We have the location. What can we do?’,” says Gudaitis. “I grew up in the Niagara region and watched the Shaw Theatre grow to become an economic generator. Like Stratford, we have communities that have grown to become major arts and cultural centres. Based on their success, we could make Collingwood the musical theatre centre of Ontario with opportunities for young people and local musicians, attracting people, dollars and economic development.”

Gudaitis says the next step regarding his and Wiggins’ vision of the Collingwood Terminals site is to create collaborative representation for the idea involving a private/public partnership, develop a business and financial plan, hold a town hall meeting, then present the idea to the new town council after the municipal elections in October. “I’m looking forward to the future,” he says. “Let’s do it right and leave a lasting economic benefit for generations to come.”

One candidate for Collingwood Council who is firmly in support of permanently preserving the Terminals for generations to come is 34-year Collingwood resident Jason Booth. Booth has photographically documented the entire interior of the structure and organized a show at the Collingwood Library last year showcasing over 60 of his photographs. He estimates that more than 1,000 people attended the two-month exhibit.

“The Terminals are one of only three heritage buildings left in the harbour area; the other two being the Lighthouse and an old boathouse on the yacht club premises that is not accessible to the public,” notes Booth. “When I come into Collingwood and see the Terminals, I know I’m home. I’m passionate about preserving the structure, and I know that there’s a lot of support from Collingwood citizens.”

Booth doesn’t want to see a repeat of what he calls the Admiral Collingwood School “fiasco” (the historic school was torn down to make way for a condo development). “Let’s seal the outside, open shops and a lookout/restaurant and open the whole site to the people,” he says, adding that he would prefer not to have the structure converted to condominiums. “We need a developer who will keep the outside façade, build a restaurant and retail spaces, and work with council and town engineers on something that makes everyone happy.” Booth would also like to see the communication towers on top of the structure removed.

Booth’s idea is just the latest in a long history of proposals by people and businesses suggesting ways to repurpose the Collingwood Terminals for some other use. “In the past, we have received proposals to convert the structure to a water-facing condominium development, a hotel, a convention centre and even a mushroom-growing facility,” says Brian Macdonald, Collingwood’s director of public works and engineering. “I really don’t know why some of these didn’t fly.”

More than likely, cost was one of the main reasons the previous ideas for repurposing the Terminals fell by the wayside. The walls of the huge structure are made of concrete several feet thick and reinforced with rebar. Modernizing and converting such a massive structure – and bringing water, sewer and electrical services to the Terminals – would require deep pockets.

Nevertheless, with considerable public support for preserving the Terminals, Macdonald says, “Yes, it’s a lot of money to keep it, but the structure is sound. Maybe other opportunities could be revisited. And now, with the engineering report, prospective purchasers know what they have to deal with. They may be looking at only a portion of the cost, since some things like roof repair won’t be needed in their plans.” As for next steps, the report’s recommendations have been deferred to the 2019 town budget, and Macdonald says the budget process won’t begin until next January, after which there will be a formal presentation to the newly elected council.

While the $10-million remediation and repair estimate is a large sum by any standard, there are concerns that this cost could go even higher. The engineering report identified issues such asbestos, lead, mercury, PCBs and mould, plus bird excrement (guano) about two feet thick in some areas of the structure. In addition, the engineers recommended an investigation into the condition of some 4,000 wooden “piles” upon which the structure’s foundation is set. While the report notes that there is no evidence of significant settling, the piles were not included in the engineering study, so a full investigation would be required to determine whether the piles are sound.

Richard Lex is no stranger to the challenges (and costs) involved in preserving heritage buildings. As past president of the Collingwood Branch of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario, Lex notes that repurposing the Terminals (“adaptive re-use”) is part of the Town’s Waterfront Master Plan. “The structure, a rare example of this type of architecture, is part of the Heritage District and should be preserved as a monument and symbol of the Town,” he says. “In my opinion, the best future use for the Terminals would be an observation deck with a museum showcasing Collingwood’s shipping heritage.”

Lex was recently invited to lunch by John Wiggins, who was looking for support for his vision of demolishing the Terminals and building a cultural complex. “I said to John, ‘Do you really think we would support you?’,” said Lex. “We don’t need to tear down the Terminals to have an arts centre. The idea is really a non-starter. I don’t think the community will ever support it.”

Another Collingwood resident who would like to see the Terminals saved from demolition is Bing Jowett. Now aged 83, Jowett has lived in the town since 1948, working in the marine business and travelling all over the Great Lakes. “Of all the harbours on the Great Lakes, Collingwood’s is the most beautiful,” he says. “It’s a foregone conclusion that the Terminals have to be saved. It’s like putting the chicken before the eggs – you needed a Lighthouse and you needed the Terminals to store grain from the Lakehead, and that’s why you had a shipping industry.”

Jowett argues that the Terminals should have been protected and restored by now because the structure is solid. Having built many homes, he appreciates the way in which the structure was built. “It’s got walls like Fort Knox, but basic things should have been done to preserve the building 40 or 50 years ago,” he maintains.

“I envision a beautiful restaurant like the one on top of the CN Tower,” Jowett adds. “Someone should take three hundred and sixty-degree pictures to give a sense of the building’s potential. And, did you know there are three cruise ships that leave Chicago and sail to Parry Sound, Midland and Mackinaw Island? We have a deep harbour where ships could dock, but they bypass Collingwood.”

A meeting was held in Collingwood September 10th to discuss the future of the Terminals and, in particular, the engineering report commissioned by the town. Although the report stated that there is no evidence of the Terminals’ “differential settlement or distress” of the wood “piles” supporting the structure, meeting participants agreed that the town should engage the engineers to investigate the site below ground.

“When looking at the engineering report, we noticed that it included remediation of everything above ground, but not below ground,” says Charlie Gudaitis, who attended the meeting. “And that’s not the only thing lurking below. Many years ago, the town invested a lot of money to clean up contaminants in the harbour left behind from shipbuilding. These were contained in some sort of bladder, which was buried underground on land just north of the Terminals in Millennium Park.”

Gudaitis points out a startling concern over the buried bladder: it was designed to last for 25 years, and that lifespan is nearly up. “If the bladder were to leak, the contaminants would spill out into the Bay and possibly spoil our waterfront,” he says. “Our plan now is to approach the town’s CAO (Chief Administrative Officer) and find out what’s going on underground. After the election, we will encourage the new council to allocate funds to deal with remediation of the foundation and the contaminated soil.

“The whole Terminals area should be cleaned up once and for all, and we need to know the real costs. The issue now is not so much about a future performing arts centre as it is about the remediation of the contamination problem for the future of Collingwood. The Terminals and surrounding property have many unknowns that need to be analyzed and addressed. Only then we can proceed with visioning for what to do with the site.”

The future appears bright for the Nottawasaga Lighthouse: thanks to the dedicated efforts of Collingwood citizens, one of the last remaining Imperial Towers will continue to stand as a beacon of the town’s maritime past, enchanting residents and visitors for many years to come. The destiny of the Collingwood Terminals, however, is far from assured.

“The Terminals are where we were five years ago,” says the NLPS’s Bing Jowett, comparing the Terminals engineering report to a similar report commissioned for the Lighthouse, which showed that it was in danger “demolition by neglect” unless something was done to remediate and repair it. “Glancing at it, the similarities in the wording and the recommendations are incredible.”

For the Terminals preservation to reach the same level of optimism the Lighthouse has achieved will take both political will and public support. Some area residents see the Terminals as a familiar and iconic structure that anchors the Southern Georgian Bay region, which must be preserved, while others see it as a disintegrating eyesore that should be torn down and converted into a public space.

With strong proponents on either side of the debate, it will ultimately be up to the new mayor and council to determine whether the structure will continue to rise above Collingwood’s waterfront, fall into further disrepair, or meet the wrecking ball. ❧

 

Terminal Regeneration

Around the world, former grain terminals have been finding new life as hotels, art centres and museums. Here are some examples of what the repurposed Collingwood Terminals could become. But repairs, remediation and repurposing our largest and most iconic local landmark would require political will, public support and private investment.

 

What Do The People Say?

With an election coming up October 22nd, the fate of the Collingwood Terminals was being widely discussed at candidates’ meetings and on Facebook as this issue of On The Bay went to press.

We polled the candidates for Collingwood Council on where they stand on the issue. Then we conducted an informal Facebook poll to see what voters would like to see happen to the Terminals. Since the majority of candidates indicated they are in favour of remediating and repairing the Collingwood Terminals, we added another option for our public poll: repurposing the terminals into some other use. The vast majority of respondents favoured that option.

This bodes well for the future of the Terminals as a continuing presence on Collingwood’s waterfront, since the new Collingwood Council will first have to ensure the Terminals are repaired so they don’t continue to deteriorate before a private investor is likely to step in and convert the iconic structure to some other purpose. Ordinary citizens will ultimately determine whether the Terminals have a future: first, by voting for candidates who support your position, and second, by volunteering, organizing, raising funds and lobbying for the building’s preservation.

Without a grassroots effort to save the Collingwood Terminals, our waterfront could look very different in 10 years.

Public Poll

On The Bay conducted an informal poll using the Facebook Poll app, posted to the On The Bay Facebook page and “boosted” for five days to ensure it would be seen by Facebook users throughout Southern Georgian Bay. The possible responses were randomized, appearing in a different order for each visit to the online poll site.

Over 4,000 people received the survey in their Facebook feed. Of these, 187 people completed the poll. The percentages for each response remained fairly consistent throughout the five days of the survey.

Question: What do you think should happen to the Collingwood Terminals building?

Responses:

• 16.6% Tear down and make way for something new
• 19.8% Remediation and repair
• 61.5% Repurpose (keep structure and convert for different use)
• 2.1% Undecided

Candidate Poll

On The Bay emailed each of the candidates for Collingwood Council asking them the following question: “What option will you support for the Collingwood Terminals building?”

We gave them three options:

• Remediation & Repair
• Demolition
• Undecided

We also asked them to briefly explain the reason for their vote, and those comments are included in the chart on the below.

 

MAYOR	Remediation & Repair	Demolition	Undecided
Michael Blair			X	The Terminals have been a landmark of Collingwood for many years, but today are more an eyesore. I would need to know where the funds for remediation and repair would come from. If forced to decide, I would choose to demolish, absent an economical proposal that would benefit the Town without wasting tax dollars.
Brian Saunderson	X			The Waterfront Master Plan identified celebrating Collingwood’s heritage as one of the 10 guiding priorities … suggesting the … Terminal support building as a restaurant or brew pub. I think the Town needs to look at all possible options including private partnerships to restore and potentially repurpose this important historical landmark.
John Trude			X	A great deal of public input is required to ensure the proper way forward … I would prefer a “public-private” partnership to limit the financial impact on the Town while ensuring, through contractual agreement, the maintenance of the façade of the Terminals to the greatest possible extent.
DEPUTY MAYOR
Ian Chadwick	X			This is an iconic site and part of our heritage … I would like to see the Town more aggressively pursue a partnership with a private developer who could help restore them, possibly in exchange for property or for the leasing rights on the roof. There are opportunities the Town has yet to explore.
Keith Hull	X			Given the significance of the Terminals to the history and culture of the community … I would like to see a Terminal Steering Committee assembled reporting to the CAO with a broad mandate to examine all options for future use, engaging … government, industry experts, the open market and … the residents of Collingwood.
COUNCIL
Stephen Aldred	X			I support the preservation of the Terminals fully, and would like to see some movement on the issue sooner than later. That being said … if the overwhelming majority of Collingwood’s citizens believe we should demolish the Terminals and move forward with something new, that is how I would vote as Councillor.
Christopher Bains		X		The issue is way too big and costly not to have a referendum. What would demolition cost? What would alternative options cost? Unless there is a consensus by the community, I would not want to proceed with any change. The Terminals and their lands represent a chance for the Town to reclaim the waterfront area for public purposes.
Stuart Beeston	X			The Town should issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) that offers private developers the opportunity to purchase and build … The development should be of mixed use including: residential office (including co-working spaces), with some retail commercial.
Steve Berman	X			The Terminals are an iconic building. They represent both the history of Collingwood … and a symbol of our home … I would support the next Council making it a priority … to start the process of looking for other funding options and opportunities to both save and develop this public asset.
Jason Booth	X			When I come into Collingwood and see the Terminals, I know I’m home. I’m passionate about preserving the structure, and I know that there’s a lot of support from Collingwood citizens. We need a developer who will … work with Council and Town engineers on something that will make everyone happy.
Tina Comi	X			I support reasonable efforts to preserve the Terminals and, like many, feel frustrated that another beloved historic icon may succumb to “demolition by neglect”. As a wireless engineer … my first order of business … would be to review our current wireless leases to ensure that our Town is receiving fair market value.
Shawn Cooper	X			I personally support the preservation of the Terminals. I believe community discussion is a must in determining the future of Collingwood’s iconic structure … Potential involvement of developers should be discussed in a public forum. Maintaining public access to the waterfront should be paramount in any decision.
Deborah Doherty	X			I believe, and this belief is shared by most residents with whom I’ve spoken, that the Terminals should be repaired and restored. They are the most iconic feature of our community, and have figured significantly in our history and our identity … Once completed, the Terminals will once again have value as an attraction and a potential source of revenue.
Cam Ecclestone	X			I believe that the residents of Collingwood overwhelmingly want to retain the Terminals. My vision is a brew pub … an outdoor glassed-in elevator … a museum honouring our shipbuilding heritage … and a choice of 5 or 6 restaurants. The north face could be a large condominium. I see the whole project as a private/public undertaking.
Tim Fryer	X			The Collingwood Terminals are an iconic landmark … that encapsulates the very fabric of our community. The historical and cultural aspects must be maintained. The next Council will need to obtain an accurate assessment of what the majority of Collingwood residents would like to see happen with the Terminals.
Sal Greco	X			We have an iconic Terminal building – a proud part of our legacy and a symbol for future responsible growth. Let’s restore the Terminals. It’s a landmark of Collingwood … And, I’m not on board with selling any remaining waterfront property.
Yvonne Hamlin			X	If simply repairing the Terminal buildings as recommended to Council by the engineering consultants is not financially feasible as I suspect, and if no white knight comes to the table to create a public-private repurposing option, then the Terminals will have to be demolished. As I read the engineering consultants’ report, leaving the buildings to continue to deteriorate is not an available choice.
Kathleen Knoll			X	My family has been in Collingwood for 6 generations, and the Terminals certainly are an iconic landmark for me and my Town. The Terminals are going to be a complex issue for Council. Not an easy fix, but the issue has the potential to really bring our community together if we explore all the options.
Bob Madigan	X			Our inner harbour and the Terminals are gems on Georgian Bay. The next term and its planning must include the Terminals. These stately silos, neglected for more than 25 years, are a part of the Town’s heritage. Council should strike an Ad Hoc Committee to discuss, engage the community and make recommendations for its future.
Mariane McLeod	X			The Terminals are a unique landmark which I’d like to see made safe and used, so long as it doesn’t break the bank. With some expert information about its condition now available in a report to the Town, a decision about the Terminals’ future can be based on facts, in addition to emotions and a desire to honour our past.
Dale West	X			The Terminals played a major role in our past and provide a link to our shipbuilding and shipping heritage. They are an iconic symbol of our community. The price tag for repairs is staggering, but I’m in favour of developing a plan to save the structure, whether we form a partnership for development or search other avenues.

Councillor candidates who did not respond: Nick Brindisi, George Dickenson, Kathy Jeffery.
 

 

Have Your Say!

What are your thoughts on the Nottawasaga Lighthouse and Collingwood Terminals? Do you think they should be preserved? Would you like to see the Terminals remediated and repaired? Or do you think the structure should be torn down to make way for something new? E-mail your comments to: readermail@onthebaymagazine.com. We’ll publish a selection of reader responses in our next issue.