Amherstburg’s Waterfront Festival Plaza is officially open.
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After nine years of planning, approvals and construction, the town opened a new public gathering space along the Detroit River.
Town officials, councillors and residents gathered Wednesday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the former Duffy’s Tavern property on Dalhousie Street, marking the completion of the first phase of the Waterfront Festival Plaza.
The town purchased the property in 2017 with a vision of transforming the vacant site into public waterfront parkland.
“It’s taken all those many years to come to today,” Mayor Michael Prue said during the ceremony.
The $3.6-million project included shoreline stabilization, retaining walls, lighting, landscaping, accessible pathways and underground servicing.
The property also underwent extensive environmental cleanup as part of the redevelopment.
“It was a contaminated site,” said Heidi Baillargeon, the town’s director of parks, facilities and recreation. “It is now clean.”
The new plaza expands King’s Navy Yard Park and is designed to accommodate festivals, community gatherings and everyday use.
Its first major event will be this fall’s Uncommon Festival, which will bring food vendors, activities and other programming onto the new waterfront grounds.
Baillargeon said the town also installed infrastructure that can support future phases of the project. Earlier plans for the site included a marina, pavilion and fishing pier.
Those additions remain possible, but will depend on council direction and the availability of funding and grants.
“This is but the first step,” Prue said.
