Glasgow Street riverfront redevelopment project

The Glasgow Street Riverfront Redevelopment Project is a joint initiative between public and private sectors. MacGillivray Properties Limited (MPL) and the Town of New Glasgow have partnered to remediate and redevelop a brownfield that is the former site of Imperial Oil, Maritime Steel & Foundry, New Glasgow Foundry, and the Nova Scotia Bridge Company. The initiative aims to transform the area to make available prime riverfront land for residential, commercial and recreational use. MPL has to date purchased land and demolished vacant derelict structures, and it is now in the process of removing foundations, site-planning and extensive tree planting. MPL’s commercial and residential development plans will provide an economic stimulus for the local economy by increasing capacity for business development in a prime location and presenting more employment options. The goal of this feasibility study is to complete phases one through four of the environmental site assessment to bring regulatory closure and support for redevelopment. The site is currently not in compliance and, given its size, it is anticipated that its areas of contamination could go unaddressed for a long time period if this project were not to be undertaken. Part of this project will involve completing a multi-use active transportation trail to provide a safe connection for people to travel to their destinations using modes of active transportation such as cycling or walking. The town owns a small parcel of land on the site and wants to connect three trail systems (the Pioneer Trail, the Samson Trail and the Johnny Miles Memorial Trail) via the riverfront. This project has been identified in the town’s Trail Feasibility Study and Active Living Strategy as an active transportation priority, and has also been identified in its draft Community Climate Action Plan to address emission reductions from the transportation sector. Innovative aspect(s): · The project will employ a risk-based approach to addressing areas of identified contamination where contaminated soils will be managed on-site whenever possible, allowing greenhouse gas emission reductions and fuel costs savings by using the existing soil and capping (this is a fairly innovative approach for a small rural town in Atlantic Canada) · The partnership between the municipality, the local real estate development company, and the Atlantic Canadian consulting and environmental engineering company represents a commendable initiative between public and private sectors in a small-town context Replicability: The partnership with the town and the methodology to remediate the site without the large expense of removing all the contaminants can be shared with other small communities across Atlantic Canada. (Project description from original funding application)