Twice rejected but still determined, the City of Pickering remains “optimistic” it can hammer out a deal to buy Frenchman’s Bay and put the waterfront lands – and the water itself – into public hands.
The city has set aside $10 million in the 2025 budget for the acquisition of the lakeside real estate and Pickering Mayor Kevin Ashe said the city is “close” to reaching a deal.
Regional councillor Maurice Brenner said the target is early 2025 to learn if the latest offer for 34 acres at 600 Liverpool Road (plus 133 acres IN Frenchman’s Bay) and six acres at 591 Liverpool Road is accepted.
The waters of the bay have been the exclusive domain of Harold Hough and his East Shore Marina since he bought the Pickering Harbour Company – and with it a Queen’s Charter signed in 1853 by Queen Victoria – more than 60 years ago.
The properties were put on the market last year with an initial price tag of $60 million for the lands (and waters) zoned residential at 600 Liverpool and $20 million for a commercial property at 591 Liverpool Road that housed a boat storage/maintenance and marine services business.
Pickering offered $30 million to buy all lands and water rights owned by Pickering Harbour Company. That proposal was rejected. The city then proposed to buy only the waters of the bay and a portion of the eastern spit lands. That proposal was rejected as well.
The price for the property was dropped in March by $20 million, prompting Pickering to prepare another bid.
The details of the new negotiations were the subject of closed special meeting of council earlier this month and Brenner said it is the city’s desire to move the lands from the hands of developers – who could, in theory, propose a floating home development on the waters of the bay, not unlike the Friday Harbour townhouse development on Lake Simcoe – and into public ownership for all residents to enjoy.
“We’re continuing our negotiations,” Brenner said. “We’re still optimistic we can come to a deal.”
The price for the new offer remains confidential but the $10 million set aside in next year’s budget and the anticipated addition of $10 million each from the provincial and federal governments hints that the city’s proposal hasn’t changed much from the initial offer.
“I can’t comment on the amount but we should know something in January or February,” he said. “We want to make sure we have the financing necessary to do it.”
“Anything we do is conditional on getting funding from the provincial and federal governments. We were never looking at financing the whole thing ourselves.”
There’s been a history of litigation since East Shore Marina bought the lands, with the dispute gracing the Supreme Court of Ontario from 1982 until a negotiated settlement was reached in 1995 that gave Hough control of the south-east portion of the bay, plus a small plot in the north near Bayly Street.
The City (then the Town) of Pickering received title of 53 acres of bay and marshland (as well as another five acres they donated to the Waterfront Regeneration Trust) when the settlement was reached and the ensuing years were relatively dispute-free – “quiet,” as long-time councillor Brenner described it – until Hough and his family applied to build a high-rise tower just before the pandemic, a proposal that was denied, with the application eventually withdrawn.
In a statement released last year when the original bids were made public, Ashe said it was “critically important” to own the assets in order to safeguard the bay from “aggressive and overly ambitious development proposals; maintain public access and recreational use; and enhance environmental stewardship of the Bay and surrounding lands.”
“Frenchman’s Bay is our shimmering jewel, and regardless of its ownership, we will continue to do what we can to protect this beloved asset from environmental degradation as well as inappropriate development, while also ensuring that it remains open and accessible for our community’s enjoyment.”
