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In 1984, only about 2 % of the 45 km (28 miles) of the Hamilton shoreline was open to the public. The creation of Bayfront Park was the first step in a long term harbourfront redevelopment project begun around 1985 to open up water access to the public. Consultants Coombes/Kirkland/Berridge of Toronto created the master plan for this redevelopment for the City for $100,000. The public could view a scaled down model of the plan in the lobby of City Hall from 1985 to 1990.
The development of the park began slowly, mostly due to funding problems. Citizens and City officials all supported the idea of cleaning up the waterfront, but about $30 million was needed to do it. The City believed that provincial and federal governments should pay for a lot of the work needed because they had done so for similar projects in other cities in the past. The provincial and federal governments were not in a hurry to give out such a large sum of money. For about five years funding for the plan was argued, discussed and delayed.
The second problem with the park development was that the land for Bayfront was polluted. The City had bought empty lots from Samuel and Sheridan Lax in 1985 for $900,000. 10.12 hectares (25 acres) of this property had been a landfill in the 1960's, and contained steelmaking waste. To open the park, 20,000 tonnes of the polluted soil had to be removed, and then the area had to be approved by the Ministry of the Environment. Clean up of the soil turned out to be more expensive than planned, so the City only paid to remove 3 tonnes in 1988. On October 11, 1991, the Ministry of the Environment approved $7.6 million to finish the clean up the next year.
Bayfront Park was opened as Harbourfront Park on August 20, 1993, for a total expense of about $9 million. Hydroplane races were offered as part of the celebrations. The name "Harbourfront Park" had been a temporary name since 1985, but people started to complain that it was too similar and too easily confused with the Harbourfront in Toronto. The Hamilton Spectator columnist Paul Wilson was the first to ask Hamiltonians themselves what they thought the park should be named. The idea caught on , and the City held a "Name the Park" contest through the Hamilton Spectator. 911 people submitted 550 park names. Five members of a committee chose the new Bayfront name, which the City Council approved August 29, 1995.
The 1.96 hectare (4.84 acres) Macassa Bay Walkway property links Bayfront Park to Pier 4 Park. The walkway goes through Macassa Bay Yacht Club and MacDonald Marina, which the City has leased to private companies. This connection makes the whole area popular for walks, in-line skating and bicycle rides. The Bayfront Park and Pier 4 Park are often used for summer festivals and concerts, such as the annual Aquafest and Summerfest celebrations. A 10 km in-line roller-skating race called Rollerblade with Ronald was held in Bayfront Park in June 1995. $7,000 was raised for the Hamilton Ronald MacDonald House.
A few of the next steps in redevelopment being considered for Bayfront Park and the surrounding area are the construction of the following:
- A $7.5 million copy of the Crystal Palace that stood in Victoria Park in the 1800's. Some people have also suggested it could be built in Gage Park.
- Cafes, shops, gardens and a 10,000 seat amphitheatre in the 40 hectares (100 acres) where the west harbour and the CN Rail yard are now located.
- A permanent bandshell in Bayfront Park facing the water.
- A 600 seat big screen IMAX Theatre, like the one at Ontario Place.
