Gateway Is A Bust

[Ron W Schinners C.D. The People's Choice for Mayor]

13 years and two Mayors and Gateway International tourist attraction is still an empty lot. This Gateway site is an eyesore that should be turned into a Park for all the residents of Sault Ste Marie to enjoy.

Two much taxpayer's money has been wasted on Jet Set Johnny's watch on this.The 15 million dollar carrot has been taken away by the NOHF replaced  by a 5 million dollar carrot.No matter which way you package this toxic waste site it will be just that.

This council should turn this EDC Gateway Committee down and not one more taxpayer dollar spend on this  pie in the sky scheme.

No private sector developer is  wanting to build anything on a toxic waste site filled with chemical tailing's from the Steel Plant or the Paper Mill.This Gateway Site is another Love Canal in the making.Why  over the past 13 years has potential developers come and gone?

In the real world if this was a great idea with potential it would have been developed and up and running.The Gateway site had 13 years and 15  million dollars with  no takers.Time City council move forward and put this Pie in The Sky scheme to rest and turn the site into a Waterfront Park..

[berto_14]

Last I checked, we already had a waterfront park -- why would we spend millions of dollars to clean up a site that will never make us any of that money back?  The idea of a waterfront park in the middle of downtown makes almost as much sense as a waterfront mall in the middle of the downtown.  Or TWO waterfront hospitals.

[Just Me]

There goes shinners in the middle of the night with his name calling,sure can't wait for the election to see this idiot fall flat on his face

What's a "waterfont"

The dummy can't spell and he wants to be mayor    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[oscar]

Ron,
If it is such a toxic site then would it be safe to turn into a park? What would be the costs of clean up be?
I liked Craig's idea that he had put forward awhile back. Maybe the only real thing to do is develope the site our selves plan it over a ten year period adding something new every year to keep it fresh. There is already a building that was a fish hatchery start there. Rebuild Fort Washgahagen....summer time dunking booths to feature guest public officials suitable for dunking...have open art fairs have a stage for out door theater....festivals....local bands and musicians....but schedule something there every day of the week.
If you want to compete with the tourist towns in michigan you need to be creative and actually do something.
Oscar G.

[Javaman]

We could make good use of that land a s a trailer park...Soo Michigan has one on the river that is always busy. It would generate tax dollars for the city as well.

[Fred Bear]

Does anyone know for sure if the Gateway site is contaminated still or are we all just assuming.  I find it hard to believe if not ridiculous that the City is trying to sell a piece of land that is contaminated.  However, if it is still contaminated it would certainly explain why it hasn't sold yet.  I couldn't guess what the price tag would be to clean up a site as large as the gateway property but I bet it would soak up $5 million pretty quickly.  Regardless, how much more time are we going to waste on this pipedream.  Lets clean it up and commit to an idea that will finally generate some kind of revenue for the city.

[Ward1Executive]

The clean up for the site will depend on how the site will be zoned.
If it was zoned for a commercial / office highrise, then it wouldn't be as bad as it would be for a park for children. I guarantee that a public park will be the most costly. And with 0 revenue in return.

Ron, just in case you're not in the know, the cleanup we talk of is not picking up the garbage and cutting the brush, we are talking environmental cleanup. Contaminants and metal (probably with high Led counts).

I find it funny that Ron doesn't want anymore tax payers dollars spent on the site, yet he wants the site cleaned up. Ron, it won't happen for free.

I think the city should at least cut the brush, take out the rusted barb wire fence and at least make it look somewhat 'cleaned up' in the meantime. That's just a band-aid solution but at least we don't have to look at it the way it is now.

[Craig Huckerby]

The land has been sitting there for 25 years and not making a dime either, nor has the boardwalk or the hub trail - but making it into a park does have other spin off effects - such as potentially bringing more people back to the downtown area - the problem is I just don't think it's big enough to hold a major attraction. The only attraction I can see for that location is something like a highrise observation tower - say two or three times taller than the history tower across the river - then you don't have to worry much about the toxic land it's built on...most of it would be for parking...

[Fred Bear]

I think its a great idea Craig but it might come with a hefty price tag, if we still had access to the $15 million this idea would be achieved much easier.  Nonetheless its this kind of positive thinking and brainstorming we need in order to come up with something great.

[Craig Huckerby]

I think anything going there is going to have some sort of hefty pricetag - but if you pull monies from the OLG (who will benefit with the casino being there) the ACR for the train depot they want to build on part of the land - the city coughs u some money plus any sort of funding from the Prov / Fed gov't I and perhaps attract a developer - it could all come together...

[Fred Bear]

We definitely need something different and this would certainly qualify.  Secondly I think we need something that could be classified as an "Attraction" to effectively draw in tourists.  Not another mall, or a park.  It needs to be over the top, something memorable and fun for couples, families, people young and old.  It needs to have a certain wow factor, something that people passing through the city just couldn't drive by without visiting, and more importantly spend some money.  Aside from its natural beauty the only thing that is "Over the Top"  in the Sault is its mediocrity.  

[berto_14]

I simply don't understand the rationale of developing yet another waterfront park when we already have Bellevue park and Clergue Park.  What benefit will a THIRD waterfront park provide?  If people don't visit the two we already have, why would they visit the third?

Also, why would OLG or ACR provide any sort of funding?

[Craig Huckerby]

Maybe you don't get out much Berto, but Bellevue is well used and so is Clergue Park.... and why wouldn't ACR or OLG put money into something they would benefit from? just makes sense to me.

[Just Me]

Oh ya all the tourists from Mackinac city will come asap when the park opens

Anyone want to buy the property and open a park

I know I don't want my tax $$$$ going into another park

Use your $$$ and you can define it anyway you want

[Craig Huckerby]

Define Park - there's many.