Oshawa marina piques interest at Toronto Boat Show
Reception for a proposed marina at Oshawa’s harbourfront was positive at the Toronto International Boat Show, with several developers expressing interest.
By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express
The Toronto International Boat Show wrapped up over the weekend, and according to one city councillor, Oshawa’s latest attempt at marketing its marina was a success.
“I’m elated,” says Councillor Nester Pidwerbecki, who attended the boat show on Jan. 20. “I’m very, very positive that with this boat show and the way that we’ve gone ahead with our communications across Canada, that we’re going to come out of this with something really positive.”
Following approval from council in December, city staff, armed with $25,000, launched a fresh new marketing campaign set on attracting potential investors to build a marina at the Oshawa Harbour.
The campaign kicked off early in 2017 and included social media efforts, news releases and a YouTube video all geared around generating buzz for the project. At the boat show, Pidwerbecki says the project received interest from a pair of potential investors, and adds that he expects to see them bring their interest to city hall in the coming months.
Currently, the city is in the midst of its second request for expressions of interest (RFEOI) process, which is open until March. The first RFEOI, launched in the summer, fell flat.
A consultants report near the end of 2016 explained how staff and council perhaps jumped the gun, and issued the request too early. The consultant noted 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 later indicated it is interested in the possibility.
“I think we’re going to have something good to deal with,” Pidwerbecki says.
However, questions still linger around the lands owned by the Oshawa Port Authority adjacent to the marina lands, which were previously slated for an ethanol plant. While those plans were quashed late last year, it remains unclear as to what the industrial space will be used for.
“I hope that we can get together with the port authority to see what we can do to make things a little better and move positively together,” Pidwerbecki says.