Sailing centre, waterfront park touted for Kingston Penitentiary redevelopment

Residential towers, waterfront green space, and a marina and sailing centre are among the recommendations for the redevelopment of the former Kingston Penitentiary grounds and the adjoining Portsmouth Olympic Harbour.

The proposal, unveiled Thursday afternoon in Kingston, is the culmination of a year-long planning process that involved public consultations, workshops, and one-on-one interviews.

• Kingston releases proposed plans for redesign of penitentiary and harbour

It recommends preserving roughly half of the existing federally owned penitentiary grounds as is for "tourism and heritage" purposes.

The other half of the grounds — mostly the southern portion, closer to the waterfront — could be repurposed for commercial or residential development, including towers as high as 25 storeys.

The proposal also includes continuous public space running along the shoreline, with a watefront park built south of the former penitentiary.

"There's a lot of key elements there that I think that can be assembled in different ways," said Kingston Mayor Bryan Paterson on CBC Radio's All In A Day Thursday afternoon.

The proposal comes four years after the federal government officially shut down the prison as part of a money-saving exercise, ending the facility's 178-year run as home to some of the most notorious criminals in Canadian history.

The City of Kingston, the Correctional Service of Canada and the St. Lawrence Parks Commission joined to launch tours of the facility in 2016, which proved incredibly popular and are being continued this summer. 

The need to preserve tourism opportunities was one of the strongest messages sent by the roughly 1,000 people who offered feedback on the redevelopment, Paterson said.

"The appetite for these tours has just been incredible. We've had thousands of visitors come last year. The tours are off the charts again this year. So we know that that's sustainable long-term," said Paterson.

Time right for 'creative redevelopment'

Under the proposed recommendations, the prison walls would remain part of the northern half of the site, while the southern portion would be subject to "creative redevelopment," Paterson told All In A Day.

That would mean some walls could come down, while some of the existing buildings could be adapted to become cafés, restaurants or "funky" office space, the mayor said

"There's some very spectacular heritage architecture there that we would want to preserve," said Paterson. "But obviously, you could repurpose them in very different ways."

The city-owned Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, meanwhile, was a working harbour before being reconfigured for the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, when it hosted the sailing events.

One local group — which includes one-time Kingston mayor Harvey Rosen and former Olympic sailor John Curtis —has already put together a $300-million redevelopment plan that would bring a high-quality sailing school to the site.

Paterson said city officials will now come up with a budget for redeveloping the harbour, while the federal government will likely begin the process of seeking bids to redevelop the penitentiary lands.

People can still comment on the recommendations, Paterson said, before it comes before Kingston city council for approval, likely next month.