The City of Thunder Bay has put two sizable chunks of its waterfront land on the market, but city officials say that doesn't mean the property will change hands.
Public notice in the local media announcing two blocks of surplus property is just a way to open the options with respect to how the city will proceed with waterfront development, a city official says.
Provincial law requires a municipality to give notice even if it is just considering selling or leasing properties.
The two blocks of land include property purchased from CN Rail for $1.2 million and the Buchanan Co. for $1.5 million. The location is the centrepiece of Portside, a $140-million hotel and recreation complex envisioned by Thunder Bay Waterfronts Developments Inc.
Details of the port side project and how it will come together have yet to be spelled out in a land development agreement. Representatives of the city and the developers are in negotiations and a report is expected to go to council this spring.