Business View Magazine
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our tourism industry. When looking at our waterfront,
I again see great opportunity - for example, the Kings-
ton Penitentiary waterfront property. This is one of the
oldest prisons in Canada. It was established in 1835
and operated until its closure in 2013, and has been
dubbed ‘The Alcatraz of the North’ for its potential as a
tourism destination. This is a significant property and
we will be embarking on a community visioning exer-
cise with the federal government to explore its poten-
tial revitalization and redevelopment. This is a project
Kingstonians are excited about and I am always hear-
ing innovative ideas for the site including the idea of
a sailing centre, recognizing Kingston’s natural assets
as the freshwater sailing capital of the world.”
Other ways in which Mayor Paterson sees Kingston
being a smart and livable city, especially for its resi-
dents, is making the community more walkable, lim-
iting urban sprawl, and “building up from within,” by
revitalizing key areas within the city core. “A number
of properties have been underutilized in the past, and
as we look to become a more sustainable community
limiting urban sprawl we are prioritizing the intensifi-
cation of our downtown,” he says. “I see residential
development as critical for the future health of our
downtown. Kingston has one of the best, most walk-
able downtowns for a city our size in Canada and we
need to sustain and build on this strength.”
The Mayor also explains how Kingston’s industrial his-
