Residents worry about losing Discovery Centre

Is it possible to stop the yet-to-berevealed developer of a new waterfront community from having a chance to bid on the former Marine Discovery Centre?

That was a question posed by some residents at a standingroom-only community meeting on the future of the former museum and restaurant Monday night.

The meeting — housed at the Waterfront Trust Centre building — was billed as a chance for community members to share what institutional use they think best suits the now-empty harbourfront building. But much of the conversation at the more than an hour-and-a-half long meeting centred on the desire to keep the building in public hands.

In January, city council voted to look at potentially offering the building up for sale as part of the larger Pier 8 redevelopment.

The building, which housed a restaurant until last summer, has been rolled into a request for proposals designed to redevelop Pier 8 into condos and commercial retail. The successful bidder will be given the “right of first negotiation” to buy the institutionally-zoned space, if interested.

Ward 2 Coun. Jason Farr, who seconded the motion in January, said it would take a vote from two-thirds of council during this term to overturn the motion. He said he would like to see what the proponent proposes for the space, if they are interested in it.

Ideas raised at a heated west harbour community meeting in March included a library, museum, aviary, community hub and performance centre, he noted. Farr said he “wouldn’t be happy” if changing the zoning became part of the negotiations for the building.

Community activist Graham Crawford has spearheaded a campaign, calling on the city to hold on to the 19,000-square-foot building. Crawford disputes the city’s position that the building, which was given to them by the federal government in 2015, is not up for sale.

“The building is for sale,” he said during the meeting. “Whether or not it gets sold is perhaps debatable.”

Crawford said he envisions the building as a mixed-use space, possibly made up of a museum, a library and a daycare.

Joan Cosby, who lives in the area, questioned why Hamilton wouldn’t keep the property, which is used by residents from all across the city, in public hands. She pointed to cities like Chicago where the waterfront is filled with amenities for the public and tourists alike.

“This needs to be a shining star for the whole city,” she said.

Council decided in January to buy out the long-term lease for the centre and its parking lot with the Hamilton Waterfront Trust for $3 million, which allowed the city to take over the building and offer it to consortiums bidding on the plan for Pier 8.

Councillors are expected to learn the identity of the winning development team for the Pier 8 redevelopment at a general issues committee Wednesday.

City waterfront point person Chris Phillips previously told The Spectator the future of the Discovery Centre is not included in that recommendation. It will be brought before council in a separate report from staff this summer, he said.

The building is also enmeshed in a $15-million lawsuit launched by the former operators of Sarcoa, which was booted from the space last July for allegedly breaching conditions and not paying rent.

At the end of Monday’s meeting, residents had a chance to write down possible institutional uses for the building, which Farr said will be shared with council, west harbour development staff and the winning Pier 8 development team.