The Shevlin Wood yards project is moving ahead with the final presentation given from HTFC Planning and Design.
Glen Manning, principal at HTFC, gave a presentation to council members on Monday to provide a final report on the work to be done.
According to the report, this project is a study commissioned by the Town of Fort Frances to develop two plans: the redevelopment of the former Shevlin Wood Yard site and designing a new gateway at the international border.
The outcome of the redevelopment of the Shevlin Wood Yard will aim to serve local and tourist markets, improve quality of life in Fort Frances, add to the municipal tax base and support development.
Manning said since he last spoke to council, there were some new things that were added.
“We had spent some time talking to the Canadian Border Services Agency, and done some rejigging of the entry routes and oversized accommodation,” Manning said.
“The other thing we did is look at some phasing options. The easiest and first thing to do would be to develop that pedestrian link to take you from the new parking lot north through the back lane, past a gas facility. The whole walkway experience could be enhanced with kiosks.”
Manning said this first phase is estimated to cost $600,000. The second phase includes an environmental assessment in order for the town to address environmental mitigation requirements prior to marketing the lots to private developers, if this proves financially feasible.
“Once there’s a sense that this project is moving ahead, the request for proposals can go out for residential, commercial or combined,” Manning said. “The final stages would be these stages will need to be working capital plans, and then implementation process.”
The improvements at the Gateway will mitigate the circulation and traffic flow at the border, celebrate the region’s ecological diversity and show the best of Fort Frances to tourists, the report states.
Manning said the implementation process will begin by having an official amendment plan then approving a zoning bylaw.
“One is a survey,” Manning said. “The second is the update to the environmental assessment. And then an official plan amendment and zoning bylaw amendments coming out of those two processes. Those are all happening more or less, consecutively.”
