Waterfront patio resurrected? Hamilton looks at temporary pandemic uses for vacant Discovery Centre

Hamilton will look at setting up a temporary pandemic patio at the empty waterfront Discovery Centre while council figures out the future of the prominent city-owned building.

A west harbour committee has recommended council start a public process next year to map out a future for the largely disused building - but in the meantime, the city is poised to explore temporary options to animate" both the centre and other vacant lands awaiting development between Pier 5 and Pier 8.

That includes the sprawling harbourfront patio that has often been empty since the acrimonious departure of Sarcoa restaurant from the Discovery Centre in 2017.

It has this beautiful patio with the best vistas in the city ... and no one is using it," said Coun. Jason Farr during the committee meeting earlier this week. I don't want to go through another season without using this space."

The fate of the underused Discovery Centre has been fiercely debated in recent years. The building, which has an auditorium and meeting rooms, sees occasional rental use for weddings and conferences, but the former restaurant has been gutted and lacks kitchen equipment.

It has been pitched as a new museum or library, but also as boutique hotel site or residential development block. The latter uses would require a change in its institutional zoning, however.

A private consortium, Waterfront Shores, is preparing to build hundreds of condo units - and maybe even a 40-storey tower - east of the building on Pier 8. The group does not have development rights for the city-owned centre, but has expressed interest in a short-term lease for the building.

Last year, council endorsed a motion from Coun. Chad Collins to put $40,000 into pop-up events and restaurant patios along vacant stretches of the waterfront - only to be thwarted by COVID.

This week, the plan was resurrected, but with an eye to COVID-safe outdoor options on Pier 8, including at the Discovery Centre. Council still needs to sign off on the recommendation this month.

The committee also recommended starting a public process early next year to consider the long-term future of the $10-million building that first opened as a federally owned Marine Discovery Centre.

Matthew Van Dongen is a Hamilton-based reporter covering transportation for The Spectator. Reach him via email: mvandongen@thespec.com