The City of Saint John is set to revitalize the former Lantic Sugar site as part of an extension of Harbour Passage, which comes with a price tag of $10.4 million.
The former sugar refinery is deemed not suitable for residential or commercial development and requires mitigation efforts before the public can access the area due to sea level rise and storm surge.
About three hectares of the site will need to be raised to avoid storm surges in future weather events.
Ian Fogan, the City of Saint John’s commissioner of utilities and infrastructure, said the project is multi-purpose, but adds the site has been a challenge to develop.
“It is a contaminated site,” he said.
Fogan explained some remediation has been done, but it wouldn’t be suitable for anything but a green space. Approximately $6.2 million will be paid for by the city. The remaining $4.2 million is intended to come from the federal Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund.
“(There are) two pieces. One is to raise the site above sea vulnerability level and in doing so you’re also sealing over the contaminants that are in the site,” he said in an interview Tuesday. “But raising it and by capping it, you’re now creating a space that is safe for people to go on.”
The old sugar refinery was a large industrial building abutting the ocean. Old photos from the provincial archives show a sea wall being built and replaced. It began operation in 1915 and was demolished in 2004.
The project will have a stormwater sewer component to help the municipality improve its ability to drain large quantities of rain and stormwater.
“We’re looking to increase the capacity all around the central peninsula but part of that plan is to create a new stormwater system through that site with a new outfall,” he said.
ACAP Saint John said the resiliency and improvement to the waterfront is essential not only for the safety of inland residents but also for businesses and industry using the port.
Sea level rise and storm surge are among the biggest issues coastal communities are facing.
“As we continue to develop the waterfront, it’s something we need to keep in mind,” said Roxanne MacKinnon, ACAP Saint John’s executive director. “We need to keep in mind higher water levels that we will see into the future.”
Researchers estimate that by 2100, the sea will rise, through increased earth temperature and melting ice caps, by about one metre, MacKinnon explained. She said there is likely to be some variation in the number.
MacKinnon said storm surge also has to be taken into consideration — especially with the rise of the water levels.
“When we have a higher regular ocean level than we’re used to in Atlantic Canada and pile on a storm surge on top of that … there is an even bigger potential impact to our land base,” she said.
Each piece of fortification makes the harbour, and those who use it, safer, she explained.
“It’s just basically going to be necessary for if you want to ensure that the land is going to be useable for the next 100 years, we kind of have to prepare those things.”
Any development of the waterfront is good news for Envision Saint John, which deals with the growth and propensity of the greater Saint John region.
Jeff Cyr of the organization said just a few years ago there was very little usable waterfront space, but this city has moved quickly to improve it.
“Now, we’re going to have an enhanced boardwalk. We’re going to have an enhanced Fundy Quay site. There are further extensions of Harbour Passage,” he said. “This is just an addition to the mix of what is going to become a world-class waterfront.”
He said there are admittedly challenges when it comes to climate change and mitigation, but the work being undertaken will make a difference.
“It’s infrastructure that needs to happen and it’s probably also infrastructure that down the road will likely pay for itself as the waterfront continues to develop,” he said.
Meanwhile, Fogan said the continued resiliency and fortification of the waterfront is like a jig-saw puzzle, going piece by piece until it can meet the expectations of a fierce and ever-changing climate.
The city awaits word on its application with the federal government under the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund.
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