Anxious to get its proposed waterfront tourist attraction back on track, the City of Sault Ste. Marie signed a letter of intent in early November with Toronto developer MagiCorp Entertainment Inc. to start work on a development and business plan for the Discover Canada theme at the Gateway site. The city is expected to recoup half of their $250,000-contribution towards MagiCorp's feasibility study with funding assistance through FedNor. The developer will commit about $75,000 towards the study, expected to be complete in four months. About $15 million in grant money from the heritage fund remains earmarked for the attraction. MagiCorp intends to meet with the other investors interested in the hotel and retail components. The goal is to open the attraction in early summer 2003. MagiCorp is the third developer to express interest in the concept. Past interest was also expressed by the Sault, Michigan Tribe of Chippewa Indians and First Gulf Development Corp., both of whom pulled out of the $63.9-million project.
