Favoured Terminals developer plans boutique hotel, event spaces

After a multi-step bidding and selection process that kept council at arm's length, Town of Collingwood staff are ready to recommend a developer for the Collingwood Terminals building. 

Streetcar Developments Inc. and Dream Unlimited Corp. submitted the top-ranked bid from a shortlist of three developers. Staff will be recommending the Streetcar/Dream proposal to council at a meeting on Aug. 18. 

Details of any of the three proposals have been kept confidential, but the town and proponent released a joint news release stating the Streetcar/Dream plan is to reuse the Terminals by creating a full-service boutique hotel that includes restaurants and events spaces while highlighting the heritage attributes of the Terminals building. 

The plan also includes enhancements to the public space on the spit including a "reimagined Millennium Park." 

Finally, the developer proposes a new marina building and facilities that "will transform the Collingwood Harbour into a marine destination unmatched on Georgian Bay and beyond." This part of the plan, according to the town release, will be subject to collaboration with the town, consultation, and future council direction. 

According to the town's release, the Streetcar/Dream proposal followed the guiding principles established by the town for the Terminals development project, which include structural preservation of the terminals, and optimized public access to the spit. 

Les Mallins, president of Streetcar said the Terminals building is not only being preserved, but "infused with new life."

"Our proposal enables public access to the spit, the bay, and the Terminals building itself in ways that would not have been previously possible," said Mallins in the news release. 

Streetcar Developments Inc. are the proponents behind the six-storey Harbour House development now under construction on Huron St. and Heritage Drive, in the old dry dock area. It is the site where a sewer force main was damaged by site drilling and raw sewage spilled into the bay.

Streetcar's pitch to the town for the Terminals is a joint effort with Dream Unlimited Corp, which has developed office and residential spaces in Toronto. 

The Town of Collingwood has been working with KPMG Consulting to seek out interested developers for the local landmark, which included in a call-out for interested parties. The responses to that first call-out were shortlisted from six to three proponents before the Streetcar/Dream proposal was chosen. 

The process involves a guidance/evaluation group made up of seven senior staff members and independent advisors from KPMG, RFP solutions as the fairness monitor, and Miller Thomson for legal advice. This team will be responsible for evaluating the proposals.

Once the request for proposals from the shortlisted developers was complete, town staff undertook a compliance review with the fairness monitor, a technical evaluation, and a closed session presentation with the evaluation committee. Council observed the session, but was not involved in selecting the top-ranked bid. 

CAO Sonya Skinner noted in the town's news release that the revitalization of the Terminals is likely one of the most impactful undertakings since the Collingwood Terminals building was constructed in 1929. 

The town has kept a page on the Engage Collingwood website dedicated to the Collingwood Terminals revitalization process, you can visit it here.

Council will be voting on this matter and others at a meeting on Aug. 18. 

If council awards the project to Streetcar/Dream, the town will work with the developers to create a memorandum of understanding. A public consultation will follow.