Sydney waterfront kiosks able to reopen this summer after apartment project delayed

Carolyn Myles was disappointed for her customers when Cape Breton Regional Municipality told her last fall they would not be renewing the lease on her fish-and-chip kiosk on the downtown boardwalk in Sydney, N.S.

A long-planned apartment complex was getting set to start construction this summer on land where the former Royal Cape Breton Yacht Club used to be and several kiosks were in the way.

But she said she and her customers were elated this week when she found out that the development was being delayed and she would be able to reopen the Lord Fin and Feather.

"You wouldn't believe the response already, just people walking on the waterfront, just coming up and saying, 'When are you going to open?'" she said Wednesday.

Myles also said she was surprised by an outpouring of comments on social media from people who were upset at the loss of attractions on the waterfront, including her business.

'I didn't know … that they would miss it'

"I didn't know … that they would miss it. I really didn't," she said.

"I guess I underrated myself. But when you put your heart into it, that's what happens."

Bedford-based Doucet Developments won the exclusive right to develop CBRM's waterfront land in November 2022, proposing to put up a couple of apartment complexes and a commercial office building starting in 2024.

They got an extension on their deadline last year, saying the plans had changed and they were going to start with a hotel.

That meant the waterfront kiosks had to make way for construction equipment, so the vendors were told to vacate.

In February, the developer got another extension, saying the hotel had fallen through and they were going to start construction of a residential and commercial building this summer.

In an interview Thursday, Doucet Developments owner Doug Doucet said the company has been held up on the sale of the property by CBRM.

"The past government wasn't working with us to the point where we could get the land purchased," he said. "We're now working with the current mayor and his team, and we're very, very close to purchasing the land."

There were a number of easements and some soil remediation required, Doucet said.

"It's just taking maybe a little longer than we'd hoped, and I really think it could be done in the next couple of weeks."

Doucet Developments bought a parcel of land on the site from Harbour Royale Development owned by Marty Chernin, but without owning all of the land outright, investors were nervous about starting work and the design process ground to a halt, Doucet said.

"We've invested a lot of money to date. We've purchased other land around the land and without owning the complete parcel, we just aren't willing to go further."

If the land purchase is finalized in the next few weeks, the company could start work on the ground in October, he said.

Myles said while she is happy to be back at work, it's been expensive having kitchen equipment taken out last fall and reinstalled this spring.

And she's having trouble finding an electrician and a plumber who are available to do the work on short notice.

"The i's should have been dotted and the t's should have been crossed before we were told to get out, because it cost us," she said.

Mayor hears concerns

Mayor Cecil Clarke said he was unaware of a delay in the development and said any questions about that should go to the developer.

In the meantime, he said, he has heard people's concerns and CBRM is responding to the public's desire for food vendors on the waterfront by allowing the kiosks to reopen.

Clarke said he's pleased the developer is willing to accommodate that.

"I think that that's a positive thing," he said. "It's a good corporate citizen that thinks that way.

"This is a way of making a positive out of what could have been a very negative situation."

Mayor blames previous administration

Clarke said any disruption to vendors was a result of a development agreement signed by the previous administration and said the kiosks were built under his earlier administration after the yacht club burned down in 2013.

"I didn't put them in a position to leave there. I was the person that made sure that those buildings went on the waterfront after the devastating loss of the Royal Cape Breton Yacht Club."

Clarke said an ice cream vendor may be taking over another kiosk and there are talks about the possibility of reopening the Portside restaurant.