Gateway: can it rise again?

The vision for Sault Ste. Marie's Gateway Site is still to create a destination tourism attraction.

So says Ian McMillan, executive director of Tourism Sault Ste. Marie.

McMillan was at City Council's meeting last night to answer questions about promoting the Sault as an international U.S. tourism gateway.

But Mayor John Rowswell made some preliminary comments that kind of floored City councillors, explaining that the $15 million earmarked by Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. (NOHFC) for the waterfront development is no longer on the table.

Now, anything that happens on the Gateway site will likely be phased in, instead of the $30-$50 million one-shot megadevelopment dreamed of by a longish list of wannabes who've tried their hands at creating something there.

"No matter what the funding level, whether it be $15 million or $5 million, the EDC/ Tourism Sault Ste. Marie Gateway Committee is still moving forward," McMillan said last night.

He said the committee is aiming to bring an update to City Council in February that will provide a better view of what its concept for the Gateway site will be.

If councillors support the conceptual direction presented by the committee, then it will approach possible partners and stakeholders.

"Everybody's already identified the Agawa Canyon Tour Train possibly moving onto the site," McMillan said. Other potential partners include Casino Sault Ste. Marie and retail opportunities, he said.

Once the committee sees which partners it has at the table, it will be able to flesh out its plan for the site, McMillan said.

The tourism director was optimistic that the City will be able to access at least $5 million as a result of Sault Ste. Marie's designation as an Ontario gateway site and Northern Ontario's only gateway to the United States.

McMillan also explained that none of the 10 communities that qualified for between $11 million and $15 million in similar grants were able to collect on them because of strings attached to the funding.

"One of the big strings was that you had to have an additional $30-plus million from the private sector," he said. "Well, we're all aware that in this economic climate, to find a private developer to come forward with $30 million to invest is probably not realistic, especially from a tourist attractions perspective."

McMillan said that, while it looks like this is a step backward, it may actually lead to a smoother process to start planning the project and go back and ask for more money if a development concept is found to have merit.

The main goal of developing the Gateway site is still to bring more people to the Sault, even if that development needs to progress in baby steps, McMillan said.

The committee's two-year mandate to bring development to the Gateway site runs out in the summer of 2011.

Given the time it takes to secure development deals, the committee is feeling under the gun.

"We do have an overarching concept for the site that we think is worthwhile pursuing," McMillan said.

It will be up to City Council to decide whether it agrees and whether the committee can move forward with the concept if it goes back to the drawing board.

The committee anticipates it will bring a site plan and conceptual drawings to City Council for discussion when it makes its next presentation late in February.