Contract awarded for Gateway Strategy for Antigonish

ARDA has awarded the contract for the Gateway Strategy for Antigonish to Ekistics Planning and Design from Dartmouth.

Ekistics submitted a proposal in response to a request for proposal that ARDA released last month.

“We’re very excited for the opportunity to work in Antigonish on this project,” says Robert LeBlanc, Ekistics’s Principal-in-Charge. “The new highway will change the way development progresses in Antigonish. It will also provide different opportunities for the town and county.”

“The idea of the gateway strategy is to maximize the development potential that our area has with the new highway,” says Alisha Grant, development officer at ARDA. “We want to create a welcoming entry point to our community for visitors and residents.”

The submitted proposals were scored based on an evaluation criteria set by the Gateway Planning Advisory Committee consisting of representatives from ARDA, the Town of Antigonish, the Municipality of the County of Antigonish, St. Francis Xavier University, the Antigonish Chamber of Commerce, the Eastern District Planning Commission, and the Antigonish Eastern Shore Tourism Association.

Ekistic’s approach and methodoly has four phases: understanding and information gathering; consultation; overall gateway strategy; and reporting. The first stage, understanding and information gathering, will begin immediately with work beginning in early August. Phase two, consultation, will happen concurrently with phase one and will also begin in the next few weeks. This includes stakeholder interviews, a public design and visioning workshop, and an online survey.

“The consultant has outlined a comprehensive community consultation plan as part of this project,” says Grant. “We anticipate a lot of community interest and participation in this planning exercise.”

Ekistic’s has worked on projects in Antigonish in the past. It developed the Bayfield, Arisaig, and Ballantyne’s Cove waterfront plans, the Columbus Field park master plan, as well as the new interpretive panels at the Coady International Institute.