International Marine Passenger Terminal
The Port of Toronto’s International Marine Passenger Terminal was built in 2005 to accommodate The Spirit of Ontario I a water-jet powered big catamaran fast ferry that was to make several round trips per day between Toronto, Ontario, Ontario, Canada and Rochester, New York, New York, USA. The terminal is at 8 Unwin Avenue, in the old Portlands, near Cherry Beach.[1] The terminal cost $8 million to construct.[2]
The Rochester firm that initially owned the ferry had a 14 year lease on the use of the terminal that would have paid the City of Toronto $250,000 per year.[3][4] The lease was terminated in December 2009 after payment of a $90,000 settlement.
For the three years it was in production the CBC drama The Border used the customs facilities of the terminal as the headquarters of an elite customs and border squad.[4]
The fast ferry service was only in service for a total six months.[4] Cruise ships that serve European tourists, cruising the Great Lakes, make limited use of the terminal.
References
- ↑ Getting to The Port of Toronto’s International Marine Passenger Terminal, Port of Toronto, 2011. Retrieved on 2011-12-29.
- ↑ Debra Black. Ferry lived fast and died young, Toronto Star, 2006-01-12, p. E 01. Retrieved on 2011-12-30. “What happens to the terms of that lease and what Rochester owes the port authority must still be determined, said [Lisa Raitt]. The ferry is survived by the $8 million International Marine Passenger Terminal on Cherry Beach and a $35 million (U.S.) Rochester port redevelopment, which included a new terminal.”
- ↑ Debra Black. Beleaguered ferry heads off across the pond; Rochester unties Spirit of Ontario Sold for $29.8M to plug financial hole, Toronto Star, 2006-05-06, p. A 12. Retrieved on 2011-12-30.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Emily Mathieu. Rochester ends fast ferry lease, Toronto Star, 2009-12-18. Retrieved on 2011-12-30. “According to the Democrat & Chronicle, the ferry board agreed to pay the Toronto Port Authority a settlement of $90,000 (U.S.) to end the lease. The board also voted to dissolve the Rochester Ferry Co.”