Waterfront vision unveiled to full house (Updated)

Dr. Rod Johnston presented the Community Waterfront Friends vision for the CP rail lands Wednesday night. The rail lands would be converted into a park under the vision.
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Rod Johnston asked over 1,000 people at the Capitol Centre Wednesday night to imagine what the CP Rail lands could look like if properly developed.

And then he showed them.

Johnston, spokesman for Community Waterfront Friends, unveiled his organization’s vision for the 14 hectares of rail lands North Bay purchased from CP for $12 million dollars.

Appropriately enough, the vision is now called Imagine North Bay.

Very concerned with concept
Using a large screen presentation to provide visuals to his commentary, Johnston took the audience on a virtual tour of what will be called Community Waterfront Park, adding some history as well.

He said the idea for a park was spurred when he’d heard what the city originally wanted to do with the land.

“The idea was they’d buy it from CP and then they would sell it all to developers who’d put up big buildings and (Community Waterfront Friends co-founder) Harriet Madigan at the same time was becoming very concerned with that concept as well,” Johnston said.

“She gathered up about 24 different groups in North Bay and we all met and it was completely disorganized chaos.”

Out of that chaos, though, Johnston said, came an alternate vision to what the city was proposing to do, the vision that evolved into Wednesday’s presentation.

Reclaim beach land
When completed in an estimated 15 years, the park will include three carousels, one of which will be a reproduction of the first carousel ever built in the 1500s, a greenhouse, botanical and sculpture gardens, outdoor theatre and music stages, an observatory and telescope, a grassy common that will also feature a soccer field or baseball diamonds, picnic areas, a pond which can be converted to a skating rink in winter, a walkway to the waterfront, a toboggan hill, a children’s area with a playground, a water park, and a hedge labyrinth.

As well CWF will be able to reclaim beach land on the east side of the park by building a water garden to naturally filter and clean effluent before it goes into Lake Nipissing.

The Heritage Train route will be extended under the plan to circle the entire park.

As well the old CP station will be refurbished into a three-storey tourist attraction including train simulators and interactive displays. It will also house the North Bay and Area Museum.

$450 million worth of economic development
Since no large buildings are planned, only toxic hot spots on the site will be cleaned up at a cost of about $1.3 million, instead of $11 million for an entire excavation, Johnston said.

Plans for a $20-million retirement development Dalron Construction, of Sudbury, will build on the Kenrock site next to the future park were also unveiled.

Dr. Johnston, spokesman for Community Waterfront Friends, said the development of the rail lands into Community Waterfront Park will stimulate $450 million worth of economic development in downtown North Bay.

Benefit through redevelopment
Mayor Vic Fedeli called the plan "the ideal answer" to the rail lands question.

He said the city will benefit through redevelopment of Oak Street and Main Street and property taxes which will begin flowing once empty buildings downtown are filled and jobs created.

Feeling of disbelief
The audience at the Capitol Centre applauded continually as
the plans were unveiled, much to Johnston's delight.

"It was a feeling of disbelief as I looked out tonight and heard their reaction," Johnston said.

"Up until this point we'd been talking about things and designing things in air. This project is huge and I have the definite sense tonight that this is going to happen no matter what."

Small and beautiful
Johnston said the park has been modelled on Central Park, in New York City, but on a smaller scale.

"It will be small and beautiful," Johnston said, "and change the way the world sees North Bay, and it’s going to be a wonderful example to other cities."

Click here to read BayToday's editorial on the subject.