The City of Delta continues to push forward with more improvements for the Ladner Harbour waterfront to activate it for more public uses.
Council recently endorsed a staff recommendation to proceed with topside and railings improvements for the Chisholm Street Wharf now that structural work is complete.
A report notes that improvements will include wood decking over the entire concrete deck with hidden conduits to allow for future electrical infrastructure. The new railing system will consist of a metal railing with cable wiring and a wooden topside finish. The wharf will also include pavement improvements along the dike to allow for activations and improve public access along the dike.
In 2008, the city used a $2 million amenity contribution from the Port of Vancouver to purchase the former Seven Seas fish processing plant property on Chisholm Street to support a Ladner waterfront redevelopment strategy at the time.
The building was demolished in 2022.
A year earlier, council approved sweeping amendments to the Ladner Village Official Community Plan and have given the green light for a new Ladner Waterfront Redevelopment Strategy, initiatives that came from recommendations of the Ladner Village Renewal Advisory Committee.
The plan will involve a reconfiguration and redesign of Chisholm Street, as well as a site redevelopment strategy for the Seven Seas site. The waterfront strategy was viewed as a key element of Ladner Village revitalization.
After the building was demolished, the concrete deck was finished with a temporary surface and railings to allow the space to be used as a temporary pop-up park.
The city had earlier done permanent repairs to the concrete deck and addressed structural concerns to ensure the long-term viability of the site, which is now referred to as the Chisholm Street Wharf. The city also removed a derelict deck at the adjacent Brakman Ker site,
Staff also note that the streetscape below the wharf will be refreshed with new signage and upgrades will also continue to be made to the dike trail south of the Chisholm Street Wharf to improve connectivity.
As far as the costs, the staff report explains that wharf improvements have been included in the 2024 Financial Plan and may be supported through a bequest received from the estate of Shirley Ann Bolhuis. She passed away in 2004 and bequeathed $786,000 to City of Delta, requesting that the city use the funds to provide accessible public pathways around Ladner with water views or water access along the Fraser River.
A portion of the bequest, $364,000 was used to replace pedestrian bridges and resurface an existing trail at Ladner Harbour Lagoon in 2019.
Staff recommended the remaining $422,000 be directed to the installation of an accessible pathway along Chilukthan Slough in Ladner Lions Park, and to support accessible improvements along the Ladner waterfront.
The 2024 Financial Plan has budgeted an additional $750,000 for Chisholm Street Wharf as well as the pavement improvements along the dike.
