Halifax

Waterfront tourist destination in Sheet Harbour building momentum

SHEET HARBOUR, N.S. — The vision of a waterfront marina in Sheet Harbour with a charming boardwalk and kiosks with slippage for around 50 boats is almost too good to be true, said Peter Stein.

“I cannot think of a downside to this,” he said, adding  it’s a “win win win” for HRM, Nova Scotia and Sheet Harbour.

Stein is part of a community non-profit group that has been working for years to develop a waterfront marina for Sheet Harbour. He presented to the municipality’s Community Planning and Economic Development Standing Committee on Thursday.

“We wanted to give them an update because a lot has happened in the last year and then to tell them get ready, we’re coming in February,” he said in an interview after the presentation.

They’ll be back in February with a specific funding request. Now that they purchased the land (in May 2022), conducted an underwater 3D survey of the wharf and ocean bottom, completed an environmental assessment, and a feasibility study, they’re ready to send out a request for proposals (RFP) in January.

When they have the exact numbers on what the project will cost, they’ll be knocking on the doors of all three levels of government for funding. Since this has been a dream of the community for years now, the group has registered as a charity and hosted several fundraising events and have collected several donations from businesses to pay for testing, legal fees and other costs.

Over two years ago, the group received two estimates ranging from $3-5 million.

An early design for the proposed Sheet Harbour Waterfront Marina. – Sheet Harbour Marina Association

The vision and timeline

Specific designs will come, but the community group has a broad vision for what their marina will look like. Stein said they’re hoping to have between 40-50 slips for boats which doesn’t include the main wharf. The old government wharf, which need repairs, is 54-metres long and will have a floating dock in front of it.

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Boats will be locked in and there will be CC TV surveillance.

“When you bring your million-dollar cabin cruiser in, you want it locked up, lights on and surveillance while you’re out having dinner, right?” Stein said.

There will be kiosks selling things like boat rentals and tours, as well as food and other items. There will be a fuel and dumping area, something they get asked about a lot.

“We’re halfway between Dartmouth and Guysborough and it’s 370-plus km. and there’s nowhere for anybody to pull in or come in and restock,” Stein said. “We get calls every summer: ‘hey, I’m in my sailboat from Boston, do you have fuel, a place we can put in?’ And the answer is no. You can tie up in the harbour … but there is no marina or facilities.”

They’re also planning to have free tricycle rentals for the boat people to shop in town, Stein said. And they’re also hoping that down the road, they’ll have a two-storey building with a marine supply shop, laundry and showers on the bottom, with a restaurant on top with a water-facing patio.

Stein said it will probably be built in two or three phases, with the first hopefully starting in 2024 with the repair and upgrading of the wharf and landscaping. In 2025 they hope to have slips installed as well as bathrooms, a dumping station, boat storage and parking.

Works for emergencies, tourists, locals and fishers

Stein said their marina proposal will fill an “emergency gap” that doesn’t exist right now in the stretch from Dartmouth to Guysborough.

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“If you’re in trouble, your boat breaks down or somebody has a heart attack or whatever, where are you going to go? You’ve got to go back to Dartmouth. We have a hospital within crawling distance of the marina (Eastern Shore Memorial Hospital), we have everything in town you would need within minutes,” he said.

A map of the proposed Sheet Harbour Waterfront Marina. -  Sheet Harbour Marina Association
A map of the proposed Sheet Harbour Waterfront Marina. –  Sheet Harbour Marina Association

A survey of the community indicated strong support and there is excitement from local business owners at the idea of the tourism dollars it will bring. He said the community is looking forward to the water access as well as being able to rent a kayak, go out on a boat tour or partake in a fishing derby. There’s also the employment opportunities that will be available.

“It’s not just the marina, it’s a waterfront development. There will be parkland with picnic tables, people can come and fish off the wharf and at the same time, there will be a gated, secure area where people can come and leave their boats securely,” Stein said. “And the fishers, the lobster folks, they want to use our ramp to get their boats in and out.”

Feasibility study

Earlier this year, HRM and ACOA funded a $100,000 spatial plan, business plan and feasibility study for the proposed Marina. 

Stein told the committee that the consultants Group ATN Consulting and Superyacht East Coast said the marina will be cash positive after the first year.

“The fact that (feasibility study consultants) tell us that we’re going to be full up, there won’t be any slips left for rental after the second year, cash flow positive after the first year, I mean holy crap, who wouldn’t want to get a part of that action, right?”

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