Category Archives: Heritage

02.15.19
by

Area residents to become ‘sacrificial lambs’ in Alma project? – St. Thomas planner Sue Fortin-Smith

almafrontgatecropjpg

McIntyre Street residences

More than a decade ago, we began referring to St. Thomas resident Dawn Doty as the Alma College watchdog. That was prior to the May 28, 2008 fire that marked the beginning of the end for the former school for girls.
Doty, who owns property on McIntyre Street across from the three-tower residential development proposed by developer Michael Loewith, was instrumental – via a Freedom of Information request – in obtaining an Ontario Heritage Trust report which the provincial government of the day withheld from the public for more than two years.
That document encouraged “the municipality to refuse any request for demolition or substantial alteration that would destroy the building or heritage attributes.”
It’s a moot point all these years later, but it demonstrates the passion of the Alma watchdog.
At Monday’s meeting (Feb. 11) she and Sue Fortin-Smith – a registered professional planner and former chair of the city’s Municipal Heritage Committee – appeared in separate deputations to council regarding what they believe are shortcomings in reports related to the development of the Moore Street property. Continue reading →

01.19.19
by

Heritage hurdle remaining hold up in Alma College redevelopment?

city_scope_logo-cmykThe first report of the city’s site plan control committee for 2019 will be presented to council Monday (Jan. 21) and it deals in
depth with the application filed by the Sierra Group of Companies for the proposed Alma property development.
The Sierra Group is the consultant for Patriot Properties which is purchasing the site and seeks to build a trio of residential towers on the Moore Street property.
The development is to be completed in three phases and, when finished, would be comprised of 430 apartment units.
Following a pair of site plan meetings in November and December, the committee passed a resolution recommending council consider the application for final approval.
Patriot Properties has not yet purchased the 11-acre site from London developer Gino Reale, pending completion of soil remediation work and removing what remains of the former buildings.
The residential development would occupy approximately seven acres.

Continue reading →

09.22.18
by

St. Thomas mayoral candidates in agreement: transit users deserve a better ride

city_scope_logo-cmykAlthough their backgrounds and platforms embrace a broad political spectrum, we discovered Wednesday (Sept. 19) the four St. Thomas mayoral candidates agree on one aspect of city life.
Incumbant Heather Jackson, Coun. Steve Wookey, former Elgin-Middlesex-London MP Joe Preston and entrepreneur/artist Malichi Male contend it is time to throw the transit routes and schedules under the bus.
The four were participating in a town hall forum at the CASO station, hosted by young & free press, a new media outlet in St. Thomas composed of a trio of 16-year-old high school students working in tandem with STEAM Education Centre board member Andrew Gunn, who served as moderator for the evening. Continue reading →

09.19.18
by

Alma College facade a non-starter; will the amphitheatre now be off limits to the community?

alma-plaque

Alma College plaque

Members of city council were unanimous in their decision Monday to initiate the process of rescinding a 2008 Ontario Municipal Board order requiring any development on the Alma property to “include a faithful and accurate representation of the front facade of the college building.”
Reached with a minimum amount of discussion, the motion brings Patriot Properties a step close to commencing work on their three-tower residential development on the Moore Street property.
What is not so clear is whether the developer is backtracking on a statement he made earlier this year regarding the public having access to the amphitheatre at the east end of the property, which will be subject to a heritage easement, according to city manager Wendell Graves. Continue reading →

09.15.18
by

Facade replication . . . the critical consideration in Alma property development

city_scope_logo-cmykA 2010 Ontario Municipal Board decision requiring any development on the Alma College property at 96 Moore Street must include “a faithful and accurate replication” of the front facade has polarized the community at large and the active membership of the Alma College International Alumnae Association.
Will it likewise divide members of council on Monday (Sept. 17) when they address the issue of approaching the OMB to rescind the replication condition for development.
The OMB order was registered on the Alma College property Sept. 9, 2010. It was registered by solicitors on behalf of the city and has been in effect for the past eight years.
On the matter of replication, the 44-page decision states, “Any development or re-development of the subject property that is permitted by present or future zoning regulations, shall include a faithful and accurate replication of the portions of the front facade of the Alma College building, which have been demolished, in a location identified by the Schedules to this Order. The replication shall include but not be limited to: doors, color of brick, roof line, and sight lines to a minimum horizontal depth of three meters from the front wall of the new building.” Continue reading →

08.18.18
by

Entegrus merger presentation the equivalent of football’s two-minute, hurry-up offense

city_scope_logo-cmykAny concerns about having to endure a lengthy dissertation from Rob Kent of Entegrus on the utility merger with St. Thomas Energy were quickly put to rest Monday evening.
And, we do mean quickly.
His presentation on the 15-month process to complete the merger, which was executed on April 1 of this year, came in at four seconds shy of two minutes.
That’s right, two minutes, with little in the way of enlightenment or answers to the many questions surrounding what is more a fire sale than a merger.
The city gets a 20.57 per cent stake in Entegrus Inc., meaning we will have little say in the operation of the entity. Continue reading →

08.11.18
by

Alma facade face-off to be front and centre in the coming month

city_scope_logo-cmykIf you have been following this corner over the past couple of weeks, you know there is a divide in the ranks of the Alma College International Alumnae Association as to whether there is merit to replicating the facade of the main building at the former school for girls as part of proposed three-apartment complex.
At issue here is a 2008 Ontario Municipal Board decision that determined any new development on the Moore Street property must recreate the north façade of Alma to a depth of three metres.
The issue is on the agenda for Monday’s (Aug. 13) meeting of city council.
The developer, Michael Loewith of Patriot Properties, has submitted a letter to council outlining his vision for the Alma College property.
Loewith writes, he was intrigued by the OMB order and the opportunity it presented to pursue his two passions, history and development. Continue reading →

08.04.18
by

Alumnae want Alma facade front and centre on proposed development

city_scope_logo-cmykIt’s been a decade since the main Alma College building succumbed to an arson-related fire, yet it appears things are heating up again with regard to the Moore Street property.
The design of a proposed three-building apartment complex on the site of the former school for girls is not being embraced by Lara Leitch and many members at the junior level (those who generally attended in the 1970s and 1980s) of the Alma College International Alumnae.
Leitch, the former vice-principal of Alma and the former president of the Alma College International Alumnae Association, has been fighting on behalf of Alma behind the scenes for a long time.
She appeared at the June 11 city council meeting where she presented a binder with petitions signed by alumnae from 11 countries and the signatures of 5,588 Elgin county and city resident who “want the college’s memory and façade preserved because of its cultural and architectural heritage in the city.” Continue reading →

08.02.18
by

Transforming Fingal’s old ball diamond into a heritage jewel

The crack of a wooden bat meeting a leather-covered baseball at the old ball diamond in Fingal is but a distant memory, however the Union Road site of games hosted by numerous editions of local teams is soon to be transformed into a heritage park.
A fixture into the 1960s, it was replaced the next decade when the Optimist Club provided Fingal with a more modern facility.
Southwold still maintains the green space north of the main intersection – site of the Fingal Foundry and Machine Shop – and a few years ago, a number of Fingal residents started having yard sales to raise money for playground equipment. Continue reading →