Lease termination on the table for controversial Port Elgin waterfront development

A highly touted beachfront development will likely not be built, CTV London's Scott Miller has more on the timeline and the headache for the municipality.

A multi-million-dollar waterfront development, meant to transform Port Elgin’s beachfront for decades, could be coming to an end, before it really got started.

“I’m pretty surprised. After six and a half long years, our 4,100 Port Elgin Beach Preservers are strongly in support of canceling the lease,” said Patricia Corrigan-Frank, leader of the Port Elgin Beach Preservers Citizen’s Group.

“I’m proud of council for making the tough decision, but it had to be done,”

After years of showing support for the private beachfront commercial development, the Town of Saugeen Shores is threatening to pull the plug on it for missing construction deadlines.

“A comprehensive review of the Cedar Crescent Village project and its associated agreements has been completed. Consequently, the town is now taking steps to assert its rights under the Lease and Site Works & Servicing Agreement, which includes the town’s right to terminate the lease,” said the town in a Monday news release.

A 50-year land lease was signed between the Town of Saugeen Shores and the developers of Cedar Crescent Village in 2019. Retail stores, a restaurant, beach viewing deck, and an ice cream shop, were initially planned to be built by August 2025, after building permits were issued in March 2023.

A construction extension was granted in February 2025, for a September 2026 completion, and North Building construction by February 2026. That hasn’t happened. The proposed site, located metres away from Port Elgin’s beach, has construction fencing, and sewer mains on site, but there’s no foundations, and no North Building, which has prompted the Town’s pursuit of “lease termination”.

“It’s hard to know at this point just how long it could drag out. It would be nice if everybody shook hands and said it’s not going to work,” said Corrigan-Frank, who lives across the street from the proposed development.

“The proponent has had lots of opportunity to meet deadlines, and month after month, year after year has gone by, and it just hasn’t happened.”

The move comes after years of public support for the project by Saugeen Shores. Last February, Mayor Luke Charbonneau said he was looking forward to the project being completed.

“It’s been five years which is longer, obviously, than anybody wanted to see. But it’s a 50-year lease, and it’s going to be an extra 10 months. And in the context of a 50 year lease another 10 months isn’t all that long,” he said.

CTV News spoke to Pier Donnini, local restaurant owner, and lead developer for Cedar Crescent Village. He said he had a “substantive response” to the situation but was unable to meet Friday’s deadline for comment. In delegations to Saugeen Shores council, COVID-19, and conservation authority regulations were suggested as reasons for the construction delays.

“We would like to see that fence come down, the infrastructure taken away, level off the ground, and let people use it for parking for the summer while they’re waiting to see who the next occupant is, who would like to lease it,” Corrigan-Frank added.

“I think our group, the Beach Preservers, would like to see a nice restaurant there. Something that’s one and half stories high, a beach shop for people coming to the beach. And an attraction like the mini putt, that was very popular, and it would be nice to see something like that for people to enjoy.”

In their Waterfront Plan, Saugeen Shores says they are very interested in some sort of development for the beachfront land that was supposed to be Cedar Crescent Village, but now has a very uncertain future.