Interventions to Protect

Collingwood Terminals Limited, 1929

BRANCH:
Collingwood
ADDRESS:
45 Heritage Drive
Collingwood ON
L9Y 0E8
UPDATED:
November 8, 2021

Collingwood’s third set of grain terminals replaced two former wooden silos. They were constructed in open water by a continuous pour of concrete over a wooden framework to a height of 180 feet. This engineering feat was accomplishment in only thirteen days. The terminals stored up to two million bushels of grain that were transported by ship and by rail and could handle 30,000 bushels of grain per hour. In 1993, after operating continuously for 64 years, Collingwood Terminals Ltd. ceased operations. Following a brief dormant state, major equipment was removed or sold prior to abandonment of the site. The structure was purchased by the Town of Collingwood in 1997.

Currently the terminals are unoccupied, apart from roof space leased for municipal and commercial communication systems and a portion of the rail shed by the sailing school. The building is listed on the Municipal Heritage Register and the Collingwood Downtown Heritage Conservation Study and Plan, 2002 states that the grain elevators are “The most important industrial site in the Heritage District”. The town of Collingwood is seeking public input and is completing engineering reports to help to make a decision whether to demolish the terminals property (estimated cost $5-8 million) or restore them (estimated cost $10 million).

ACO Collingwood has been defending the terminals since 2011 when the council of the time first discussed the possibility of their demolition. Currently, the branch is acting as a liaison with the Collingwood Terminals and Harbour Action Group in its effort to restore and to maintain the Terminals as part of Collingwood’s built and cultural heritage.

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