Vicano Developments this week closed a deal to purchase 67 acres of industrial land on the southeast corner of Highbury Avenue and Ron McNeil Line, adjacent to the city’s new 1,500-acre industrial park, now known as Yarmouth Yards.
Vice-president Paul Vicano says they are working with Whitney and Company of Cambridge to find tenants for the site.
“This was the kick-off to our leasing campaign with Whitney, our listing team, to look for a tenant for either a single-use building or smaller tenants of multiple units or buildings.”
Space is available up to 1.4 million square feet for one large operation.
Sister company Vicano Construction was involved in building the city’s social services and housing hub at 230 Talbot Street.
Vicano describes what he envisions for the property.
“I think the highest probable type of tenant would be ancillary to the Volkswagen EV battery plant. A spin-off or supplier-type tenant who would feed into the needs of Volkswagen.
“But, it’s not limited, I think the site lends itself well to being flexible enough to be leased to any tenant.”
Like Vicano Construction, Vicano Developments is no stranger to the city with projects underway in the Dennis Drive Industrial Park.
He advises it is too early to determine when site preparation will begin.
“We don’t have a set schedule right now. A lot of it will be tenant-driven for who comes along.
“We are actively making application with the City of St. Thomas as a portion of the property is to be re-zoned for the employment use.
“The majority of it already is zoned.”
Sean Dyke, CEO of the St. Thomas Economic Development Corporation, calls it a prime location right at the northern gateway to the city.
“It is really prime industrial land currently available in the city and the largest piece of readily available land, I would say, until such time as all of the land we’ve acquired will be on stream.
“So, it’s a great spot right at the gateway to the city. Really, regardless of what type of industry goes in they’re going to find it’s a really accessible space with lots of good exposure.”
Dyke added the triangular parcel of land north of the railway tracks was not included in the land assembled for the Yarmouth Yards industrial park.
“There was already some discussion about the potential for getting that sold to somebody else or leased out.
“So, we were pretty excited about letting the private sector run with that one.”
“We really enjoy working in St. Thomas and we see a great opportunity to continue and that is why we purchased this.”
Vicano stresses that Vicano Construction’s involvement with the 230 Talbot Street social services project was their introduction to St. Thomas and played a key role with investing further in the city.
“Our introduction to St. Thomas was during that project where we did get to know some of the key staff at the city and were introduced to economic development (St. Thomas Economic Development Corp.) and introduced to a more broad understanding of the market in St. Thomas and that’s why we ended up purchasing Dennis Road (in the industrial park there).
“We saw the opportunity way back then and that was before Volkswagen was ever announced.”
That would go back to around 2017 when the Talbot Street property was purchased from London developer Shmuel Farhi.
Vicano added, “We really enjoy working in St. Thomas and we see a great opportunity to continue and that is why we purchased this.”
He praised the efforts of city staff in their land acquisitions.
“It’s honestly one of the easiest municipalities in Ontario and we work all over Ontario and we get along so great with everybody there.”
COUNTING ON RESERVES TO LESSEN TAX LEVY STING
City council this past Monday evening unanimously approved the draft 2024 capital and operating budget after shaving it down by half a percentage point.
However members did not undertake any pencil sharpening, instead they dipped into reserves up to a maximum of $350,000 to drop the property tax levy increase to 2.95 per cent.
The move required a specifically worded motion from city clerk Maria Konefal.
“That council establish the 2024 budget at a target percentage increase of 3.49 per cent as presented, noting that 0.54 per cent is to be recovered from reserves. So the actual impact on the property tax levy is 2.95 (per cent).”
The average St. Thomas home will pay approximately $3,055 (excluding the education component) for municipal property tax next year. This is an $88 increase over this year.
Council had started budget deliberations looking at a 3.49 per cent levy increase.
It was Coun. Jeff Kohler who pushed to lower the levy below the three per cent mark by accessing reserves.
The proposed levy for the coming year is a shade under $69 million, which is an increase of $4.2 million over this year.
When you factor in just over $2 million in additional growth-related tax, the levy increase drops to $2.2 million, which is a 3.49 per cent increase over this year.
The city’s $192,000,000 budget for next year is made up of $140,000,000 in operating expenses and $52,000,000 in capital expenses.
Contractual increases in wages and benefits – $2.5 million – and wages and benefits for new positions next year – $1.4 million – are the biggest contributors on the operating side to the tax levy increase.
In total for next year, the city is looking at adding 15.55 full-time equivalent positions, six of those with the police service.
In total, 48 capital projects are recommended for approval by council.
“Are we going to support hospital and hospice grants? I don’t care whether the county doesn’t support it or not. I can’t support the budget without answering grant questions.”
Complete Streets roadworks projects top the list at $9.2 million, Kains Street reconstruction comes in at $5.7 million and the new animal shelter has been green-lighted at almost $3.7 million.
Six projects have not been recommended for approval including $200,000 for the replacement of a shelter at Pinafore Park.
The addition of a cricket pitch at Cowan Park – an estimated total cost of $175,000 – didn’t make the cut.
The requested grant funding to St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital – $2.5 million – and Hospice of Elgin – at $600,000 – are not included in the 2024 budget, to help offset the larger-than-normal levy increase that was projected, according to Director of Finance Dan Sheridan.
To hold the line, the city will defer granting funds to those capital campaigns until 2025.
This was an area of concern for several members of council.
Mayor Joe Preston observed, “How do we deal with donations to assets that are not ours? Some of this has to go to our strategic plan.”
Coun. Gary Clarke added, “I have a problem if we are not talking grants. Are we going to support hospital and hospice grants? I don’t care whether the county doesn’t support it or not. I can’t support the budget without answering grant questions.”
As a cost-saving measure, Coun. Steve Peters asked about the possibility of removing the roundabout from the Kains Street reconstruction project.
“We have a strategic plan and capital asset plan, we need to look at our long-term financial plan. Let’s get a sound financial plan in place for the city so we can make significant investments in the future.”
City engineer Kevin Deleebeeck advised this would save about $250,000, however, that saving would be lost due to delaying the project for design changes.
He added an updated report on the $5.7 million undertaking will be coming to council in the near future. In fact, it is on the agenda for Monday’s (Dec. 11) meeting.
Peters also pushed for a long-term financial plan for the city.
“We have a strategic plan and capital asset plan, we need to look at our long-term financial plan. Let’s get a sound financial plan in place for the city so we can make significant investments in the future.”
A budget bylaw will be presented to council for approval at the January 8 council meeting.
ROUNDABOUT PREFERRED OPTION
The Kains Street roundabout is before council again on Monday (Dec. 11).
Specifically a report from Daniel Koppert, manager of capital works presenting options for improvements to the Kains and St. Catharine streets intersection.
This comes from a request from city council at the Nov. 6 meeting.
According to the report, Kains Street experiences an Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) volume of approximately 8,000 vehicles.
St. Catharine Street experiences an AADT volume of 4,200 vehicles.
There have been two collisions at this intersection over the past five years, both due to vehicles failing to stop at the existing stop sign on St. Catharine Street.
Issues identified from previous reports and studies dealing with this intersection include speed, traffic control warrants, parking and pedestrian safety at the courtesy crossing.
The Transportation Master Plan (2021) included recommendations for a roundabout at this location along with active transportation improvements and the conversion of Scott and Curtis streets from one-way to two-way traffic.
The Kains Street reconstruction project will include a roundabout at Kains Street, bike lanes and active
transportation, protected pedestrian crossings, along with improvements to the watermain, storm drainage, and sanitary sewers.
An all-way stop and traffic signal were not recommended as measures to improve the intersection.
The report notes, “Roundabouts offer many advantages to regular stop controlled or signalized intersections but may not be an appropriate intersection treatment where space is not available, on a steep grade, or where there is severely unbalanced traffic flow.”
The document continues, “The previous council reports regarding this intersection have all identified that an all-way stop is not warranted at this location, that local residents have expressed concerns of traffic noise and vehicle emissions associated with an all-way stop at this location, and that a roundabout at this location offers the best solution for pedestrian safety and traffic calming.”
As for the conversion of Scott and Curtis streets, the report indicates, “The existing road widths of Scott Steet and Curtis Street are sufficient to support two-way traffic without any changes to on-street parking and would create conditions which are familiar to drivers, similar to other streets in the neighbourhood.”
The report advises, “The Kains Street roundabout has been designed to accommodate large delivery trucks and trailers using a truck apron. This apron will allow a truck and trailer to track within the roundabout centre while still providing the channelization required for traffic calming purposes.”
The project will see the addition of four additional 2-hour public parking spots on Eagle Street.
As for disruption during construction, Kains Street will be accessible to local traffic for the duration of construction and will be split into two phases from Mondamin Street to Station Street and from Station Street to Alma Street, with both phases completed consecutively.
The cost of the entire project is $5.7 million with the roundabout coming in at $630,000. This includes $50,000 for an art installation.
This compares to $770,000 for traffic signals and $360,000 for a four-way stop.
The report cautions, “The Kains Street Construction project is ready to be tendered. Revisiting the design of the intersection of Kains Street and St. Catharine Street at this stage would result in the project not being ready for construction in 2024.
“This project was previously tendered in 2022 and did not proceed due to higher-than-budget results; it can be expected that delaying the project further would result in additional price increases.”
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YARMOUTH YARDS UPDATE
We get a first glimpse of the construction schedule for the Volkswagen/PowerCo EV battery plant in an Industrial Development Update included in Monday’s council package.
According to the project status table, “the project is on time and all challenges are being resolved.
Site grading began last spring at the industrial park now known as Yarmouth Yards and is scheduled for completion at the end of 2024.
Construction of the EV giga-plant is to begin next spring and run through to the first quarter of 2027.
Work on site infrastructure including internal roads, sanitary, storm and water began this fall and will continue until the fall of 2026.
The twinning of Hwy. 3 and interchange work being undertaken by the MTO is underway and will extend beyond the end of 2027.
The widening of Highbury Avenue is to be completed by the end of 2024.
The expansion of the fire hall on Burwell Road and the process of acquiring a foam truck is to begin early in 2024 and continue through to the end of 2026.
Environmental remediation at the industrial park will commence early next year and likewise continue through to the fourth quarter of 2026.
Transit enhancements will begin early in 2026 and roll out throughout the year.
All of the above projects are on schedule according to the update.
What is not on schedule is the rail spur from the CN line south of the property and the railway yard to be located on-site.
Work was to have begun this summer and be completed by the third quarter of 2025.
Likewise, construction of the wastewater treatment plant
was to have begun this year and continue through 2027.
There is concern about the status of both of those large undertakings.
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