Public Engagement Sought for the Port Lands
June 7, 2021Cornwall Ontario – The Port Lands project is now moving into its first public engagement phase.
Members of the public are invited to help shape the future use of the lands via an online short survey, a board to post ideas, and a discussion forum to engage with other community members on what the future of this land will look like. A short video has been developed to publicize the engagement effort.
The Port Lands is a 16-acre parcel of land along the St. Lawrence River immediately south of the Le Village and Historic Cotton Mill districts. The lands are jointly owned by the Akwesasne Harbour Development Corporation and the Cornwall Harbour Development Corporation. In 2016 Transport Canada divested the 16-acre parcel of land at the Cornwall Harbour site back to the communities of Akwesasne and Cornwall with an accompanying endowment of just over $5,000,000 to go toward remediation and re-development of the lands. The goal of the Co-owners, in conjunction with the feedback from the public is to transform the property into a space that benefits both communities. As per the agreement with Transport Canada, the land can not be used for further industrial activities and must be redeveloped around commercial, residential, tourism or a combination of any of the three.
The Co-Owners have engaged the Cornwall & The Counties Community Futures Development Corporation as project manager. The Project Manager will be engaging in multiple online focus groups over the course of the coming months to further solicit feedback from a wide range of community members for their thoughts on the future of this monumental project. Community feedback is the most important part of this project; it will assist the Co-Owners in making decisions that reflect the interests of both communities.
The website engagement process will be open until July 31st 2021 and the Focus Groups will be conducted throughout the months of June and July.