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A rookie councillor’s push to kill London’s riverfront project will mean the city walks away from millions in donations, the charitable group behind the effort says.

Lost, too, may be the economic boost – including to affordable housing – London Community Foundation president Martha Powell said Thursday.

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Coun. Shawn Lewis is marshaling an effort to ditch the work at the forks of the Thames, aimed at revitalizing London’s downtown connection to the Thames River, saying it’s too expensive and calling the potential payoff “wishful thinking.”

“A ribbon at the Forks of the Thames is not a priority to me,” Lewis told The Free Press.

“The economic impact, the idea tourists will come down to the forks if we do this, I find it to be wishful thinking . . . the Thames is not a world-class river. It’s actually a pretty fickle river.”

But the head of the London Community Foundation, which has quarterbacked the riverfront plan since it launched an international design competition in 2015, says there’s incredible opportunity wrapped up in the Back to the River vision.

The foundation has been entrusted with a $3-million donation — a recent gift — to sink into affordable housing along the riverfront in SoHo. That’s part of the second phase of the revitalization that would include a promenade along the old Victoria Hospital lands. Lewis says “the SoHo piece” is worth discussing.

It’s secured $2 million for work at the Forks of the Thames from other London philanthropists, donors likely to walk away if council scraps the project, Powell said.

Another $750,000 was donated specifically for riverfront development in SoHo.

“Back to the River is not just about a pretty river. This is about economic stimulus to our community and mobilizing the community,” Powell said.

“I don’t want people to think the river development project is just about putting a little art gallery down there and making the bike paths great, but about stimulating the community into issues we’re dealing with, and one of the hugest issues in our community is housing.”

The cost of the suspended bridge at the lookout, accompanied by a large open public space with amphitheatre seating and terraces with views of the river – a design developed by a Colorado-based firm during the 2015 contest to revitalize the Forks – was recently pegged at $10 million to $12 million.