The full archaeological investigation of the historic Allandale Train Station land near Barrie's waterfront remains in its last stage, but could be completed this year.
City staff say Stage 4, as required by the Ontario Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture, continues at the site, which is located near Tiffin Street and Lakeshore Drive.
“Discoveries of fragmentary human remains have been uncovered within the imported layer of fill surrounding the Allandale Station buildings,” said Jason DeVroom, Barrie’s facilities capital project supervisor, in a memo to council. “Given that these fragments have been found in a secondary deposit and their scattered nature across the site, AECOM’s archaeology team has recommended an accelerated approach utilizing mechanical excavation for the 2021 season.
“Subject to weather conditions and unusual site discoveries, this accelerated approach could see the completion of the Stage 4 investigation site work this season,” added DeVroom, noting the discovery of fragmentary human remains is not recent.
AECOM’s final Stage 4 report for the work will then be subject to the ministry’s review and approval, before previously planned site redevelopment work can continue.
In addition, the Bereavement Authority of Ontario will set conditions for the placement or re-internment of fragments recovered from the site to date.
The city has set aside funding to cover the cost of the archaeological work and, to date, approximately $2.3 million has been spent on legislatively required archaeological investigations, inclusive of First Nations monitoring fees, during a five-year period.
Depending on what is found, according to city staff, costs associated with the 2021 archaeological season may be upwards of $1 million, including approximately $150,000 for First Nations monitoring fees.
The total project budget, including costs to date, is $4.8 million.
In late 2016, a request for proposals (RFP) was issued by the city to retain an independent archaeologist to conduct a new study on the historic Allandale Train Station land, separate from any previous study there. This RFP was issued in collaboration with the Huron-Wendat and Williams Treaty First Nations.
In January 2017, the city awarded the contract to AECOM to complete a full archaeological assessment of the Allandale Train Station site, including Stage 1, 2 and 3 studies. Results of the studies led to a Stage 4 assessment.
City staff have said this area exhibits a complex archaeological history and has been disturbed on more than one occasion — including the construction of several 19th-century structures, the flood of 1896 and when the current Allandale Train Station buildings were built in 1905.
A large amount of archaeological material has been recovered and the apparent foundation of the 1863 train station has been exposed. Upon completion of the Stage 4 excavations, the determination of the affiliation of any remains recovered from the site will be made by the Archaeologist of Record in accordance with provincial regulations.
The Registrar of Burials will identify the next steps in any further processes.
Lawsuits involving Barrie’s Allandale Train Station land remain before the courts. A summary judgment hearing is scheduled for October; it’s a motion to dismiss all claims against the city, including breach of contract and bad faith bargaining, relating to a failed development deal a decade ago on the property.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Until the claims against the city are settled, in court or outside of it, the likelihood of further substantial development on these nine acres of land near Barrie’s waterfront is unlikely — even though the lawsuits no longer make a claim against the land itself.
Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General says a summary judgment provides a mechanism in cases where there is "no genuine issue for trial" for all or part of a claim to be disposed of in a summary manner, without a full trial.
Correct Group Inc. (CGI) entered into an agreement with the city in 2009 to develop the Allandale Train Station site, along with the YMCA of Simcoe-Muskoka. The ‘Y’ pulled out in 2010, finding the financial risks too high. By that time, there were also environmental concerns and the discovery of Indigenous remains on the property requiring investigation.
This entire parcel of land includes Allandale Waterfront GO Station, the restored Allandale Train Station and city property once slated for redevelopment.
