There appears to be a lot of support for the plan to develop the former Duffy’s Tavern property in Amherstburg into a waterfront plaza.
Council on Monday approved an environmental assessment for the Riverfront Festival Plaza and Marina plan. Residents now have 30 days to comment on the plan.
The proposal calls for an amphitheatre, a marina and fishing area as well as gathering spaces.
It’s expected to cost between $7 million and $9 million.
Councillor Don McArthur supports the project.
“A lot of residents called on council to be visionaries, to embrace this plan, to have an active park to compliment the passive use of Navy Yard Park and something that will really elevate Amherstburg as a place to live, work and play for residents and tourists,” says McArthur.
Some residents do not want to wait any longer for the development.
“I’d be excited to see this go ASAP,” admits resident Ken Hambleton.
“It's going to attract people, it’s going to strengthen downtown, it's going to put Amherstburg on the map,” says Carolyn Davies, the owner of the Bondy House Bed and Breakfast. “We’ve got a gem of a waterfront that other towns would give their eye and tooth for and we need to enhance that.”
CAO John Miceli says the next step once the appeal period ends is to bring ideas to council on how to move forward with the development.
“We can do it in eight different phases which we can do over several years or council can take the plunge and do it all at once,” says Miceli.
The town purchased the waterfront property in 2017.
