Marketing a new marina to the world
City staff have recommended that an advertising campaign be launched in order to garner interest for the development of a marina in the city’s south end. A consultant with the city says that the initial request for expressions of interest was issued at the wrong time, with some marina developers not even knowing it was out there.
By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express
It fell flat the first time, but now the city is looking to put a little more effort, and cash, into a push to market the Oshawa marina to potential developers.
In a report to the development services committee, staff are proposing to issue a second request for expressions of interest (RFEOI) after the first one sent out this past summer netted only two responses, one of which was not compliant with the terms. However, they are also taking it a step further.
“The limited number of potential proponents and the economics associated with marina development might require the City of Oshawa to develop a marketing strategy to help shape the approach to procurement prior to the launch of a new RFEOI,” the report reads.
Now, with the help of a consultant, the city has prepared what Councillor Nester Pidwerbecki dubs an “energetic” marketing campaign that will see city staff pumping out news releases, YouTube videos and advertisements, all geared at promoting and selling the idea of developing a marina at the Oshawa Harbour.
The campaign is set to cost $25,000, part of which will include staff spending 10 days with a booth at the 2017 Toronto International Boat Show.
Paul Ralph, the city’s commissioner of development services, says this second approach is likely to be much more successful.
“There’s been a considerable level of interest,” he says, noting that much of it came after the original RFEOI process closed.
And this time around, the city is looking to fix the problems from the first go, which the city’s consultant, Mark Conway with N. Barry Lyon Consulting, says hindered the process.
While marina development has been stagnant in the last 30 years due to the high cost of waterfront land, the increased regulations and the risk of revenue being dependent on good summer weather, the city also made several errors with their original REFOI, such as bad timing and poor visibility, the report reads.
The consultant advised the process should have been launched in the fall or winter instead of in the summer, which is the busiest time of year for marina operators, adding that two major players in the marina operations field – Parkbridge and the Pride Marina Group – were not even aware of the city’s RFEOI. Pride has since indicated it is interested in the possibility.
The fact that the ethanol plant is no longer a threat could also be a draw for potential developers.
If approved by council at its next meeting on Dec. 19, the new request is set to be issued in January, with the costs associated with the marketing campaign coming from the city’s harbour development reserve.