Ontario Construction News staff writer
The City of Pickering recently submitted two proposals to purchase Frenchman’s Bay and related land holdings from the Pickering Harbour Company, which were ultimately rejected by the seller.
With a plan to return Frenchman’s Bay to public space, the city submitted a proposal to buy 174.7 acres of Pickering Harbour Company’s water and land holdings at the foot of Liverpool Road. When this was rejected, another proposal was to purchase only the Bay (the submerged real estate), however, it was also turned down.
“We are extremely disappointed that we were unsuccessful in our bid to acquire Frenchman’s Bay at this time, because we feel that it belongs in the public realm,” said Mayor Kevin Ashe. “Frenchman’s Bay is our shimmering jewel, and regardless of its ownership, we will continue to do what we can to protect this beloved asset from environmental degradation as well as inappropriate development, while also ensuring that it remains open and accessible for our community’s enjoyment.”
According to a statement, the city felt it was critically important to own the assets in order to safeguard the area from aggressive and overly ambitious development proposals as well as to maintain public access and recreational use and enhance environmental stewardship of the Bay and surrounding lands.
Despite this most recent setback, the city will continue to seek opportunities to return this treasured asset back into public ownership.
Please continue to report on this story. It would be terrible to see Frenchman’s Bay become urbanized. It’s an important natural area in an already urbanized part of the GTA.