Report Review

Staff are reviewing the recently completed Collingwood Harbor Concept Plan report.

This report examines things such as:

• physical conditions of the harbor
• water quality and aquatic habitat
• existing users and stakeholders
• previous waterfront plans
• regulatory requirements
• concept plan

While the report is primarily focused on the water, it is an important piece of work to understand the parameters for any adaptive reuse and/or development in this important area of our community.

Toronto Silo Redevelopment

Collingwood is not the only community exploring such developments. The City of Toronto is exploring ideas for what to do with the lands around their waterfront silos, with the re-use of the silo structures themselves remaining a more complex notion.  Apparently there is quite a lot of structure within the silos which makes the creation of floor space very difficult and cost prohibitive. 

From the City of Toronto WEB SITE: 

"The City of Toronto continues to look for innovative ways to preserve its history and provide a legacy for future generations, while making the most of this prominent part of Toronto's landscape and real estate.

In December 2009, City Council approved a two-phased plan to develop the iconic Canada Malting complex and preserve its most important heritage components as part of the waterfront's revitalization".

Coastal and Waterfront Smart Growth

"How can smart growth strategies help coastal and waterfront communities manage growth and development while balancing environmental, economic, and quality of life issues? How can communities on the water adapt smart growth strategies to fit their unique character? This website will help communities answer these questions. It is specifically targeted to anyone who plans, designs, builds, approves, or has an interest in development at the water's edge"; this is from a NOAA web site that has lots of information about planning and developing waterfronts that may be helpful to our project. 


Here is the link to the site: http://coastalsmartgrowth.noaa.gov/welcome.html

Adaptive Reuse of Silos

Below is information about an example of a silo reuse project in Sacramento.  
An online article describes the project (click HERE): 


"Grain elevator reuse is neither easy nor cheap. Take the recently-opened Globe Mills complex in Sacramento for instance... an example of what other cities are doing to preserve their industrial heritage. The project combines 114 senior housing units in a five-story building built on the mill property, 31 lofts in the historic mill buildings, and 5,000 sq.ft. of retail space. The silos have been incorporated as a signature element of the design."


"The Globe Mills embraces many of the most desirable trends in urban development: Transit Oriented Development; Energy Efficiency; Smart Growth; Historic Adaptive Reuse; Mixed Use; Brownfield; Urban Infill Redevelopment; Public/Private Partnership"

The development's website is HERE 

Photos from Applied Architecture.

Adaptive Reuse Research

As staff are examining opportunities for the "development" and/or adaptive reuse of the terminals and waterfront area, examples from other projects will be found.  

These will be posted to provide people with ideas of how others have creatively tackled their waterfront design challenges.  

However, it is important to note that not every example will be appropriate or possible in Collingwood.