Running head: Port Dalhousie Development 1

Port Dalhousie Development

Name of Student

Name of Affiliate Institution

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Port Dalhousie is a community located in St. Catharines, Ontario in Canada. According to

Gayler (1994), the community is popular for its waterfront environs. Nevertheless, it hosts the

Royal Canadian Henley Regatta . Historically, in the 19th century, Port Dalhousie is significant

because it is the terminus for the Welland Canal routes. Port Place is a project that was proposed

to bring development to Port Dalhousie. The project entails a condo tower of 17 floors, with a

boutique hotel and a theatre. The cash budgeted for the project amounted to 65 million dollars.

However, even with the resources, the project has not been accomplished yet five-plus years

have passed. Instead, buildings in the community have been brought down, and for like a year

and a half, all that is seen at the Lakeside Park are holes. According to the city planner, there has

been no receipt of building permits. According to me, the developers have had challenges in the

process, but they will complete the project. Moreover, there are 80 condo units, and the initial

price is 350 thousand dollars; and, 60 percent has to be sold before construction starts. With the

positive energy and conviction of residents of the community and their focus and willingness to

help, I am convinced beyond doubt that development will take place. That was a decision in

2010. In 2015, the property was bought by Fortress Real Developments, and in June 2016, new

plans were put in place by the Richmond Hill-based firm; the number of stories was to be

decreased while the number of residential units was to be increased. The plans for a theatre and a

hotel were also dealt away with, but room for commercial retail was catered for. In 2017 in June,

the Fortress submitted its files containing the planning proposal to the city for the Union

Waterfront master plan. The proposal was worked on further after a public session that involved

the residents, at the Port Dalhousie Lions Club hall in September. The plan deals with 12 and 16

Lock Street, 12 Lakeport Road and apportions of the Hogan’s Alley. It entails a terraced
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condominium infrastructure that will have bedroom units (1, 2 and 3 units), giving a total of 220

residential places (Adams, 2017).

I can be against development for the reasons prompted by demerits such as the issue

demolishment of buildings and sites. People’s property got demolished despite some having

different opinions about the same. I feel for the people who were not ready and got displaced and

disoriented in terms of settlement and jobs. For instance, people’s businesses were brought down

and thus, had to find alternative means of survival for their families. I find it wrong the way the

council gave people false hopes of resuming work when the development kicks off because these

hopes started to fade away as weeks turned to months, months to years without anything being

done. The owners of the property had to begin doing repairs on their own, especially during

warm weathers. This is because something had to be done to cover the embarrassment of the

messy sewers that came to be as rains and mudslides poured on the land. I am positive that there

are benefits that are going to result from the development. The economy of the community is

going to grow as a result of the development of restaurants, commercial retails and public resting

yards. The economy will also grow because of the foreign exchange that is likely to stream in as

foreigners stream into the new attraction site and favorable platform for trade (Adams, 2017).

Also, the residents of the community are going to be reunited because they are going to be placed

on the same page, once again, as far as their development is concerned. What the council in

charge needs to do is to involve the public because they will need to work hard to gain back the

trust of the people after such a long time of unfulfilled plans of development

References
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Gayler, H. J. (1994). Niagara's changing landscapes. Ottawa, Canada: Carleton Univ. Press.

Adams, A. (2017). Welland Canals Preservation Association Fonds, 1977-1990, nd.