Rehabilitation of Roy Site – Hotel Complex and Public Market

The Town of Asbestos hosts an asbestos mine that is in the process of being shut down. It has also inherited a number of brownfield sites created by various industrial activities related directly to mining operations in the immediate area. The Town of Asbestos has plans to conduct: • four phase I and II environmental site assessments (centred on lots 3 170 367, 3 170 386, 3 192 493 and 3 170 473); • two additional phase II environmental site assessments on two other lots (3 170 477 and 3 170 479); and • a feasibility study of converting six lots that are currently vacant or occupied by abandoned buildings into a hotel complex and public market so as to attract new businesses and promote new cultural activities. The City will work in partnership with the private developer, who will develop the real estate component of the project. The Roy site rehabilitation project will serve as a model for the implementation of the City’s land development and rehabilitation partnership strategy. This project is part of the City’s urban plan which has been updated in connection with the rehabilitation and redevelopment of the mine’s open pits. The initiative is eligible because it evaluates the technical and financial feasibility along with the environmental, social and economic impacts of the hotel complex and public market in the Town of Asbestos. The project meets the needs of local residents and will contribute to improving water and soil quality in addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It will also include a phase II environmental site assessment. The proposed process for carrying out this project is as follows: the City will organize a workshop as part of developing the assessment framework (phase I) to discuss options for rehabilitating the site and to determine technical needs and requirements for rehabilitating the brownfield site for the various options. Following the workshop, the City will determine which options will be submitted for analysis by site remediation specialists and the urban planners and architects, who will prepare landscaping and development proposals for the hotel complex. As part of this study, specialists teams will proceed with the work set out in the workplan. Once the findings have been evaluated and recommendations formulated (phase 3), specialists will submit their recommendations to the Town of Asbestos. The City will decide on the public consultations to be carried out for project approval. The work plan includes a review and amendment step in the lead up to establishing final proposals. The project and final options will then be endorsed by City Council. Characterization work will be undertaken to confirm the presence of any contamination in the groundwater and soil associated with the study properties. The Roy site rehabilitation, hotel complex and public market project will identify the most effective site rehabilitation options (in-situ or off-site treatment of contaminated materials, including soil, groundwater and other materials). The Town of Asbestos plans to provide support for the construction of a hotel whose energy performance will exceed the standards with a minimum reduction in energy consumption of 45% as compared with a building that meets the 2011 National Energy Code for Buildings (NECB) standards. The project will make 12,000 square metres ready for redevelopment. The soil and groundwater will be treated in-situ, and will involve no risk of exposure for humans or the surface environment. Four deliverables will be produced: • a final report, entailing a financial feasibility study covering environmental, social and economic impacts; • a complementary environmental characterization study for lots 3 170 477 and 3 170 479; • an environmental characterization study for all the lots; and • a letter with a detailed cost breakdown for in-situ rehabilitation of the site. The knowledge value lies in the fact that there are a number of Quebec and Canadian cities like Asbestos whose existence is based on the presence of and proximity to a mine and its operations. The future of these communities, which are frequently located in exceptional geographic locations or natural settings, depends on their capacity to rehabilitate and redevelop the industrial sites. (Project description from original funding application)