New wetlands stall Thundering Waters development
The future of a proposed $1.5-billion development backed by Chinese investors in Niagara Falls is now uncertain.
A spokeswoman for the developer told the Globe and Mail some of the project’s backers, which include the real estate fund of a state-owned Chinese investment company, are re-evaluating their commitments because of ongoing delays.
Cynthia Lai, a Toronto-area real estate agent and spokeswoman for GR (CAN) Investment Co. Ltd., an arm of China-based GR Investment Group, told the national newspaper some investors are reconsidering their investment, but not GR (CAN).
She said GR (CAN) is looking for investors every day, which they don’t have trouble finding.
Lai could not be reached for comment Wednesday, and a representative with GR said no one else was available for comment.
GR (CAN) bought 193.6 hectares of property west of Marineland and adjacent to Thundering Waters Golf Club two years ago, and is planning a mixture of residential, commercial, retail and entertainment uses as part of the development known as Paradise.
The project is proposed to include, among other amenities, residential homes, well-known restaurant brands and entertainment complexes.
The development, however, has been bogged down by provincially significant wetlands that cover about half of the property.
The idea of biodiversity offsetting was suggested as a way to deal with the issue, which would see the wetlands moved, or recreated somewhere else.
The idea angered environmentalists and galvanized their opposition to the project fearing it would destroy sensitive wetlands, and was never approved by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.
Since GR (CAN) bought the land, the ministry has increased the total protected wetlands scattered throughout the property.
“The wetland mapping is changing midway through projects, and certainly that’s not inspiring any confidence with respect to developers wanting to do business here,” said Niagara Region Chairman Alan Caslin.
He said the provincial government should “clear up its policy conflicts” around development in Niagara.
“The Places to Grow (Act) designates land in Niagara, including the Thundering Waters site, as an economic gateway zone. The policies are conflicting with the wetland policies, and the private sector is really shying away from doing business in Niagara because of it.”
Caslin said the Paradise and other projects would create hundreds of jobs in the region.
He noted Premier Kathleen Wynne was on a trade mission in China in 2015 when a $100-million investment towards the development in Niagara Falls was announced.
“You can’t just support it internationally, you have to support it at home, too,” said Caslin.
He said he’s concerned about the future of the Paradise development.
“Absolutely I am concerned and, quite frankly, the premier should be concerned, too. It’s stalled because of the province’s own policies. All we’re asking for is the province to clear up their guidelines.”
The project was expected to receive zoning approvals last summer and construction was to begin this spring, said Mayor Jim Diodati.
But with the wetland issue unresolved, the project has not moved forward.
Diodati said the province has changed the rules “in the middle of the game,” which is unfair to the developer.
“This group, with full disclosure, agrees to purchase property in the city within the urban boundary that’s already been signed off by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, so they come in with eyes wide open, it’s witnessed by the premier, we go to China, we’re trying to seek out investment, and in the middle of the game, the rules change,” he said.
“That is not the message you want to send out to any investor because no investor will ever invest if they know that the rules can and will change in the middle of the game.”
Ken Todd, the city’s chief administrative officer, said the province told the developer the “file is never closed,” and until they get final approval, the process could change “daily, weekly, monthly.”
For example, he said the developer was about eight months into the process when “all of a sudden there became a new protocol with respect to identifying bat species on any wetland site.”
“That then delayed them about eight months because you can only do the testing for bats in June. When they started and made all of their applications, and started their studies, there was no regulation for them to do that. We just don’t think that’s fair.”
Diodati said had the investment group known in advance the province would “change the rules wherever and whenever they see fit,” they would never have invested “a nickel in Ontario … nor would anybody else.”
Diodati, however, said the development is “not dead” and that GR still believes in the “viability” of the project.
“They still believe in Niagara Falls, and they still believe in the healthy balance between (provincially significant wetlands) and developable land.”
He said the group “never intended” to develop on the wetlands, or the buffers or setbacks.