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With the official arrival of summer last week (in all its hot, humid glory) we've already seen the annual summer slow-down begin for the development industry in Toronto. The subsequent exodus to cottage country had us here at UrbanToronto feeling a little left out, so this past weekend we turned our attention north of the city towards one of the most anticipated homecomings in recent memory. Skyline International welcomed home the storied S.S. Keewatin to the sleepy town of Port McNicoll, soon to be a centrepiece of Skyline's development there, and we were lucky enough to be invited to go along for the ride.
Port McNicoll was the former base of the Canadian Pacific Railway's Great Lakes Service, an integral port town where those heading westwards would board one of the Great Lakes Steamships, on which they would be ferried to Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay). The SS Keewatin, launched in Scotland in 1907 and in operation for nearly 60 seasons, was an economic engine for the booming port town and a tourist draw for surrounding Tay Township. By the mid-20th century, technological advances had rendered steamers such as the Keewatin impractical; the boat was purchased by RJ and Diane Peterson in 1967 and relocated to Saugatuck, Michigan, where it was saved from being scrapped to serve as a maritime museum. Four decades later, Skyline International purchased the iconic ship as part of their commitment to revitalize Port McNicoll, and this past weekend saw the steamer return home to a huge crowd – both on water and land.
A short hour and a half trip north of the city had us arrive at Midland Harbour, where the Prescotont, a similarly impressive (albeit dramatically smaller) restored boat awaited to ferry us out into Georgian Bay. Once on the water, the excitement this event had stirred up was evident; hundreds of personal boats filled the lake, and in the distance we could make out the Keewatin with its single funnel piercing the horizon. As we approached, the sheer size of the ship – 350 feet long – was all the more clear, as was the accompanying flotilla trailing the steamer.
The Keewatin was built five years before the Titanic, with several similar features, some still preserved and others awaiting restoration. A grand staircase, 'Scotch' boilers, Edwardian dining saloon and period finishings have been meticulously maintained, providing a glimpse as to what early 20th century steamers were like. The steamer was tugged by Fogg Towing based out of Michigan, travelling north through Lake Michigan, across Lake Huron and into Georgian Bay. The journey required not only time but also manpower – the Kalamazoo River had to be dredged in order to allow the Keewatin to pass through its mouth into Lake Michigan, an impressive and large-scale engineering feat.
The Keewatin's journey across Georgian Bay drummed up quite a bit of excitement in Port McNicoll; the pier was jam-packed with both locals and tourists, all eagerly awaiting the boat's final mooring. In amongst the crowd were a number of local politicians, veterans who had been employed on the Keewatin (some 60 former employees from the ship were said to be in attendance) along with representatives from Skyline. Eric Peterson, representing his brother and sister-in-law, recent owners of the boat, expressed their pleasure in seeing the Keewatin return to its home port. Eric Conroy, a former waiter on the ship and now head of the local committee overseeing the restoration, spoke about the importance of the Keewatin to the town, and told the crowd of an early meeting with Gil Blutrich, Founder and President of Skyline International, where Conroy told him of efforts to bring the Keewatin home. At the time Blutrich promised a disbelieving Conroy "we'll get you this ship".
Blutrich, obviously thrilled with the day, officially accepted the key to the boat, and vigorously rang its bell, in what was surely an emotional ceremony for members of the audience who remembered Port McNicoll's heyday. Skyline's purchase and repatriation of the Keewatin is - while serving a central role in their development project - much more about the existing community; the ship will be donated to a local non-profit, who will run it as a maritime museum and multi-purpose venue that will inject much-needed money into the local economy. The restoration will see the Keewatin assume a role as a local hub, with banquet facilities and community space set to be constructed within the ship.
Tay Township mayor Scotty Warnock was on hand at the ceremony, as was Bruce Stanton (MP, Simcoe North) and Garfield Dunlop (MPP, Simcoe North). Mayor Warnock's support and enthusiasm for the event was clear, stating,
"It's going to be a kick start for the town… Port McNicoll was a vibrant community, and when the ship went away, a lot of the vibrancy went away as well. We see this as an opportunity to recapture the glory days of Port McNicoll, and of course the Skyline development is an integral part of doing that."
Portions of the Skyline development have already begun along the northern pier, and the first phase of the project has sold out. A few private homes were visible looking out onto the lake, with Skyline CEO Michael Sneyd indicating that we can look forward to a 162-room hotel to be built on site in the future. The development will create 700 permanent jobs for the local economy, and will employ 3600 people during construction over the next 10 years. Sneyd spoke to the development and the effect of the grand steamer upon it, stating,
"The Keewatin is really the catalyst, starting the development of 1500 units, 100,000 square feet of retail and 300,000 square feet of community space."
Following phases are currently for sale.
The Port McNicoll Resort Village by Skyline covers a vast tract of land jutting out from the heart of town; the plan is also seeing the construction of a new yacht club out of which members can explore Georgian Bay's thousands of islands, bays and various landscapes. The development will be connected to regional trails and will reclaim the former brownfield site, rehabilitating a shoreline which will not only benefit Port McNicoll but the wider ecosystem of Hog Bay as well. In addition to the repatriation of the S.S. Keewatin, Skyline has purchased and will be relocating the historic Ossawippi Express Railway Cars, currently in Orillia. The cars will be situated next to the rebuilt Port McNicoll train station, nestled within the Royal Gardens.
While the opening of the ship may not be until next year, it has already had an impressive impact on the local community; organizations have banded together in order to fundraise, while the surrounding area is gradually being viewed as an alternative to the increasingly expensive Muskoka and Haliburton regions to the east.
We were thrilled to have been able to attend the homecoming of the S.S. Keewatin, thanks to The Communications Group, and anxiously await an invitation to see the ship once it has been restored, and further development of the site. Port McNicoll has only just begun its renaissance; the coming years will no doubt bring quite the upswing to its economy and vibrancy to its townscape. We're looking forward to watching as Skyline's development at Port McNicoll takes form, and congratulate them on their successful return of a maritime icon, relevant not only to the town but to a much wider audience.
