Discovery debuts next summer
Discovery Centre The Hamilton Waterfront Trust hopes to revamp and reopen the Discovery Centre by May 2012
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The Hamilton Waterfront Trust is on track to revamp and reopen the Discovery Centre by next summer.
The centre — a former high-tech museum that was called “Canada’s first virtual urban national park” when it opened in 2004 — will be transformed primarily into commercial space, said executive director Werner Plessl. He’s aiming to open the facility to the public by May 2012.
“What our board prefers is restaurants in there. And there could be a banquet or meeting space associated with it,” he said.
Plessl said the Waterfront Trust is still negotiating with potential tenants who could bring more variety to the facility on the west end of Pier 8, near the foot of James Street North. A Williams Coffee Pub opened near the site about five years ago.
“We’d like to see a range of restaurants, not just one or two,” Plessl said. “We’d like to see people have choices down here.”
The Waterfront Trust, an arm’s-length development organization, took over the building and grounds under a 43-year-lease with the federal government last October. Parks Canada closed the six-year-old facility last fall after attendance started dwindling.