The company that is planning to build the commercial development at Port Elgin’s main beach is asking the Town for an extension.
Council is due to consider it tonight.
In 2019, the Town agreed to a 50 year lease of public land by the beach to a developer for a proposed restaurant and commercial space.
After some delays, back in 2023, the Town issued building permits for the development which have a timeline of substantial completion of two years since they were issued. That would put the completion of phase one in March of 2025, and phase two in August 2025.
The proponent is requesting an extension to February and May of 2026, with total completion by September, 2026.
In a letter to council which is on tonight’s agenda, proponent Pier Doninni says “We have now begun activity on the site. The activity demonstrates our confidence in achieving the financing required to complete the project. At this point, funds supporting the construction represent the equity contributions of the owners, including myself. ”
His letter provides a timeline for the work. Doninni says the north phase will be first, and he anticipates it will be a Dairy Queen. He expects to complete that phase by February 2026.
He says the south phase, which is expected to be a restaurant and pavilion, will be built at the same time, but will take longer because it is larger. “We expect to be ‘complete’ by end of May 2026 so that the entire site will be occupiable in the summer of 2026,” says Doninni in his letter.
He adds, “To the extent we can achieve these results faster, we will be endeavouring to do so. You will appreciate that we are highly motivated to finish in order to be open for business.”
Doninni adds in his letter, “I know that both the Town and ourselves would have liked to be complete already. Its worth recalling that much of the delay in the overall project is associated with the intervention of Conservation Authority, the response to which was led by the Town. The intervention caused us to have to move the site from its original location closer to the shoreline to it present location. We have borne costs arising from the relocation, both in terms of delay and the costs of re-design and remain committed to the project. We are requesting the time needed to complete our work and bring this vision to life.”
He is asking the Town to consider the request, noting construction is actively underway, asserts that the developer is not at fault for the delays, they have made “substantial investments in this project” and adds, ” the project will be an excellent addition to the waterfront.”
Council is due to consider the request this evening.
