Plan to redevelop Alexander Docks unveiled with $10.8-M price tag

A $10.8-million redevelopment plan unveiled Thursday is designed to transform the Alexander Docks into a riverside park a decade after it closed to the public.

The waterfront attraction at the site along the west banks of the Red River off Waterfront Drive would feature a new dock with a possible waterbus stop and access for canoes, kayaks and other watercraft.

Key elements would also include gathering spaces, seating terraces, an edible “Giving Garden,” a deck, a picnic grove and enhanced lighting, along with a memorial to honour Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

“The Alexander Docks… have had a long and storied history in our city,” Mayor Scott Gillingham noted at the announcement.

”Built nearly a century ago, when Winnipeg was booming, they were a vital shipping hub, connecting river, rail and roads.… After more than a decade closed and fenced off, (they are) being reimagined… as something new, a riverfront park that welcomes everyone.”

The docks were closed to the public in 2015, after an engineering assessment found the underside of the wooden structure was no longer safe. Large holes in many of the boards were visible through the surrounding metal fence Thursday.

As of 2023, The Forks holds a 99-year lease on the city-owned land and is tasked with maintaining it.

“We’re reimagining this place as a park. As a public space for people that we can all be proud of,” said Sara Stasiuk, president and chief executive officer of The Forks.

The park is also expected to restore a section of the North Winnipeg Parkway Trail.

Stasiuk said ensuring the park honours the plight of Missing and Murdered Indigenous women was an important part of the design process.

“Sadly, this place is… known for heartbreaking loss. Eleven years ago last week, Tina Fontaine’s body was found near this dock and her tragic death became a national wake-up call,” she said.

The body of the Indigenous teenager was found in the river in the summer of 2014.

The park will preserve a “spirit tree” planted in her honour and add a permanent arbour for gathering and ceremony.

Desiree Theriault, a Métis landscape architect who worked on the project, said the design is intended to create space for healing and to “reclaim the waters.”

“This river is both a source of life and a keeper of our deepest grief,” said Theriault.

Stasiuk said The Forks expects to spend about $1.2 million to deconstruct the existing docks during the coming winter, with $600,000 covered by a city grant. While the organization hopes to continue construction next summer, the park’s timeline depends on how quickly enough money can be raised for the project.

The design calls for a fixed dock that combines some original timber piles with a new deck surface.

Stasiuk said reusing the material should not shorten the expected lifespan of the new dock.

While residents have complained for years about numerous encampments along Waterfront Drive, Stasiuk said The Forks doesn’t expect that will raise safety concerns for future park visitors.

“Right now, nobody’s camping on the Alexander Dock space anyway, and part of that is because of incredible sight lines from the roadway to the pathway to the waterway. So, it’s a wide-open space,” she said.

“Having great sight lines is a part of it, having great design is a part of it, having good lighting is a part of it.… (And) when you have a lot of people around, it’s much safer for everybody.”

Gillingham told reporters he expects the provincial Your Way Home strategy to move encampment residents into supportive housing, will reduce the number of people living in tents along the river as the park project moves forward.

“The ultimate goal is that there are no encampments in Winnipeg and there are no encampments along this riverbank. We want to get people into housing with wraparound supports. That’s the effort that’s being made,” he said.

Laurie Nealin, an Exchange District resident, welcomed the plan to revitalize the barricaded space.

“This summer, a few of us were invited to see the plans and we were just so impressed, so thrilled. We couldn’t really think of anything that could be different, should be different,” said Nealin.

She said water access and gathering spaces will attract visitors, benefiting area businesses.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

X: @joyanne_pursaga