LUNENBURG - The Waterfront Development Corporation Limited (WDCL) and the Lunenburg Waterfront Association Inc. (LWAI) are in the process of revamping the business plan for Lunenburg's historic waterfront.

 WDCL, in association with LWAI, have been in control of 22 waterfront-area properties and eight wharves since they were purchased from Clearwater Fine Foods by the provincial government in 2005.

 Colin MacLean, WDCL president, says the two bodies have been working within the confines of the original business plan for the waterfront for about five years, and "it just seems like a good time to sort of take stock on how the plan is going and whether or not we continue in the exact same direction, or are there any tweaks or modifications that need to be made.

 "There are new businesses there," he said. "There are existing businesses that went back. There's been a lot of infrastructure development."

 That includes repairs made to several wharves, maintenance and upgrades to some of the buildings, the installation of docks in the marina and increased public access areas.

 "There's a lot of activity," he said, adding that what has actually happened over the past five years is "quite striking.

 "There are a couple of key properties left and we had to make sure we're doing the right thing for those properties, attracting the right entities to them, so let's take a look at that business plan and see if we can't bring it to conclusion, because we've got a lot of momentum. What direction we'll take, we don't know."

 He said members of WDCL and LWAI waterfront steering committee meet every two weeks and revamping the business plan has been one of the items on the agenda.

 "I think that probably over the next calendar year ... we'll roll up our sleeves, look at the plan, review it and come to some decision ... as to what the next five years hold," he said.

 One of the key future players on the town's waterfront could be Covey Island Boatworks who moved their head offices to Lunenburg and their boat building yard to Riverport following the devastating fire that destroyed their Petite Riviere facility in 2008.

 The company has been in ongoing negotiations with WDCL for a deal which would allow them to relocate their boatyard to the Lunenburg waterfront for some time.

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 The province announced July 8 that they would be spending $1.5 million on upgrades to the marine railway in preparation for the restoration of Bluenose II, a move that fueled speculation in some circles that a lease agreement with Covey Island may be drawing closer to fruition.

 "Covey is part of the alliance that will be part of the Bluenose II refit, so that is obviously occupying all their time," he said. "What I can say is that they are interested. The project manager has contacted our folks and they're interested in using some of the property that's ... down in that location, but the details of that we haven't completely figured out yet."

 He said WDCL has decided to put a hold on future plans for that land for the time being "to make sure that the Bluenose II project is successful.

 "So there is nothing specifically being done with Covey, just themselves, but we certainly are working with them as part of the alliance."

posted on 07/20/10