11 July 2007
City Faces Keewatin Competition
The SS Keewatin is being courted by at least two Ontario
cities, and currently resides in Douglas, Michigan, USA.
Thunder Bay Ontario - As the last of the classic Great
Lakes passenger steamships still afloat, the SS Keewatin would be a welcome addition to the Thunder Bay waterfront, but only if the
costs are in line with what the city can afford, said Paul Pepe, the city's tourism manager.
The city is re-opening its bid to bring the ship to Thunder Bay as a tourism attraction on the soon-to-be
redeveloped waterfront, and a delegation of local officials made their presence known at the Keewatin's 100th anniversary celebrations
in its current Douglas, Michigan. home.
But the Thunder Bay contingent wasn't alone. A Port McNicoll, Ontario, group, led by ambitious Toronto developer Gil Blutrich, was also
on hand, with full intentions of making the floating museum the focus of its waterfront plans.
Pepe said the competition has reaffirmed the desires of some in Thunder Bay to bring the ship home, after five years of
ebb-and-flow activity since the idea was most recently proposed in 2002.
"I think the fact that there is another community, that's also looking at it as well, has sort of raised the sense of urgency for
some of the people in the community to want to do it," Pepe said.
The Keewatin is presently owned by 80-year-old R.J. Peterson, who rescued the Scottish-built cruise ship from
the scrapheap in 1967, two years after it stopped taking passengers on the two-day journey between Port McNicoll and Fort
William.
At the time, it was rumoured the Keewatin's owners, the Canadian Pacific Railway, had offered to sell the ship to either community for
the nominal sum of $1. Instead Peterson paid $42,000 and has kept it afloat ever since, using his own money and revenues garnered from
visitors.
Pepe said Peterson isn't partial to which port the Keewatin calls home, but he does want to ensure the ship is shared with the general
public for years to come.
"Whether it stays there, whether it comes here, whether it goes to another community, he's really looking to see a proposal that
will see that it last for another 100 years," Pepe said after his second journey in three weeks to the Michigan port.
Pepe is expected to present a report on 10 Sep 2007 on the feasibility of bringing the Keewatin to Thunder Bay, but he
said there are still a number of questions that need to be answered before the city agrees to proceed or walks away.
First and foremost is the cost, about which Pepe is as much in the dark as anyone else. The Keewatin is mired in eight feet of silt,
which would have to be dredged in order to move the ship. Costs have been estimated between $300,000 and $3 million for this portion
of the repatriation alone.
Add to that the towing costs, restoration, renovations, and upkeep, and the dollars quickly mount. According to the Toronto Star,
Blutrich has proposed to set up a charitable foundation that would combine private and public sector donations to operate the ship.
Pepe said Peterson is investigating a similar foundation, which through an attached endowment could eliminate the purchase price and
much of the annual maintenance costs.
The 10 Sep 2007 report will include potential sources of money, including government investment and fundraising capacity
at the local level. Pepe said his department is also looking at different ways to increase revenues through expanded programming and
services, including turning staterooms into bed and breakfasts, renting the lounge to business groups, and creating a theatre in the
cargo hold that will provide another reason for tourists to board the Keewatin.
There's no point in undertaking the exercise if the ship won't attract tourists, Pepe said - though he added he was not really worried
about that after taking a two-hour tour of the ship's top two decks.
"It's not necessarily a destination, but it's an attraction that will keep visitors in the community for another half a day. If
we can keep them in the community for another half a day, that's more dollars they'll likely spend in restaurants, and even in
hotels," Pepe said. "That's what we're really trying to do, is build the critical mass of visitor attractions in the
city."
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