'It's getting closer': Confederation Bridge fabrication yard development key to P.E.I. town's future
Borden-Kinkora MLA questions transparency of provincial selection process for the site
Anticipation, and perhaps some skepticism, are building among residents in Borden-Carleton as they wait to find out what the fate of the former Confederation Bridge fabrication yard might be.
The Prince Edward Island government is reviewing the five development proposals it received for the 45-hectare piece of land, located where the huge concrete components of the bridge linking this province with New Brunswick were constructed nearly 30 years ago.
While the timeline and most of the proposals are still unclear, the gateway town's mayor is optimistic that the process will mark the next step in Borden-Carleton's evolution.
"The goals of the town are jobs and residents, but sustainable jobs is what we're looking for," said Randy Ahearn.
"I can't wait to see something happen. We're getting there, it's getting closer, and I think things are going to change. It's going to be good for the province, good for the town, good for everything."
The once-bustling former fabrication yard features stunning views of the Confederation Bridge and the Northumberland Strait, but the land has sat vacant since the bridge opened in 1997.
The economic development agency Innovation P.E.I., which is a provincial Crown corporation, owns the site.
The province established a selection committee to rank the five development applications that came in after its request for proposals.
Once the committee makes its decisions, Ahearn said the province will get input from residents at a public meeting in the town, a date for which has not yet been set.
'Awkward process'
There are some concerns about the transparency of the selection process, and whether the top-ranked application will be pushed on residents as the only option.
Matt MacFarlane, the MLA for Borden-Kinkora, said he hopes the residents of Borden-Carleton will get to see all five of the proposals and have their voices heard at that public meeting when it happens.
"If it's predetermined through the channels that have already been established — well, that defeats the whole purpose of having the public meeting," he said.
"This is an awkward process, to say the least, where the property is being evaluated, proposals are being determined and considered, [and] the municipality and the people within the town are not being brought along with that process."
MacFarlane hosted a meeting of his own in the town last September. Residents who attended seemed to support the only proposal for the site that's become publicly known — a golf course, pitched by competitive golfer and pharmacist Kris Taylor.
Taylor's proposal at the time included two 24-unit residential buildings as part of the second phase of the development.
In a statement, the province said it's continuing to evaluate each of the submissions.
"Before any public announcement is made, consultations with the Town of Borden-Carleton must be completed to ensure that the successful proponent is aligned with the goals of the town," the statement reads.
Officials have said that if people in the area support the idea, the province will then finalize its agreement with the company pitching the proposal.
Ahearn said he's not worried about the delays because he wants to ensure that whichever proposal the province recommends aligns with the town's goals of job and population growth.
"They're taking their time, they're doing what we asked," he said of the province's process. "It's going to work, it has to work. You have to stay positive."
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With files from Wayne Thibodeau