They are the second largest affordable housing provider in Elgin county and on Thursday of this week, Eastwood Housing Corporation hosted a ground-breaking ceremony for one of their largest undertakings of late.
The event drew a significant gathering to the vacant lot at 220 Highview Drive, just south of Wellington Street.
It will become the home of a five-storey, 82-unit complex known as Highview Hideaway.
In June of this year, we spoke with Jon McCurry, Eastwood’s Director of Operations, about the ambitious undertaking in partnership with Doug Tarry Homes.
Eastwood already has an inventory of 325 units in 11 properties across St. Thomas and Elgin county.
Category Archives: St. Thomas Police Service
“We’re not really trying to truly fix blame, we’re trying to fix the problem – St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston on homelessness and housing
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) annual conference begins tomorrow (Sunday) and runs through Aug. 21 in Ottawa.
At the beginning of June, we spoke with St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston regarding which provincial ministers were a priority for the city’s delegation.
At that time, the key meetings would be with the Minister of Transportation, Prabmeet Sarkaria to discuss regional transportation; Attorney General Doug Downey to address concerns facing the St. Thomas Police Service; and the new Minister of Education, Jill Dunlop.
The latter was appointed yesterday (Friday) afternoon after the resignation of Todd Smith, in the portfolio for less than three months after a June cabinet shuffle.
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Zero tolerance versus common sense when dealing with trespassing issues at the CN Rail yard in St. Thomas
A leisurely Saturday afternoon bike ride down memory lane proved an expensive outing for St. Thomas resident John Van Duynhoven and his wife.
As they briefly rode their bikes near the tracks at the CN yard at the end of St. Catharine Street, they were stopped by CN police and ticketed for trespassing.
The incident occurred last Saturday and we spoke with him midweek.
Because of a lack of clear signage, 71-year-old Duynhoven stressed they were unaware of where the CN property line is.
“I am a senior and if I sounded nervous on the phone when I left you a message, it’s because I have a lot of anxiety over this.
“I haven’t slept for a couple of days very well because it was an innocent bicycle ride on a Saturday afternoon.
“We were going out to see how the construction was going on Scott Street.”
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The resolution presented by Southwestern Public Health aims to prevent another Walnut Manor from occurring
It has been three years almost to the day since we last wrote at length about Walnut Manor, that dreadful hovel where some of the most vulnerable in the community were warehoused.
On July 7, 2021, we documented the shuttering of Walnut Manor under a Section 13 closure order as the facility was “an unfit, unsafe environment for living.”
That item in this corner continued, “Seven years after the health unit closed the kitchen for three days due to food handling and storage violations, Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) ordered Walnut Manor closed due to public health violations.
“After years of enduring rodents, bed bugs, mould and food best described as appalling and not appealing, the health unit today (July 7) issued a Section 13 Order under the Health Protection and Promotion Act to close Walnut Manor in St. Thomas due to the existence of significant health hazards.
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Shovels are in the ground for Project Tiny Hope: “A great step forward in sustainable, high-performance housing that is also affordable.”
Thursday (June 27) was a highly anticipated day for Lindsay Rice and the other players in Project Tiny Hope.
Construction began on the first tiny home to populate 21 Kains Street where, eventually, 40 such homes and other amenities will provide safe, affordable housing in a downtown neighbourhood community.
A community of more than just housing, it’s a new beginning.
The Project Tiny Hope partnership includes the YWCA St. Thomas-Elgin, Doug Tarry Homes and Sanctuary Homes.
The community will be a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom rental units to accommodate adults, youth and families.
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A key partnership aims to address the lack of affordable housing in St. Thomas
Editor’s note: City Scope has a new Facebook page at http://facebook.com/St.ThomasCityScope
They have become the second largest housing provider in Elgin county by continuing to build affordable housing units. Something they have done over the past four decades.
And now, Eastwood Housing Corporation and Doug Tarry Homes are partnering to expand the stock of affordable and safe housing in St. Thomas.
According to St. Thomas Elgin Social Services, the wait time to access social housing is anywhere from two to nine years.
Highview Hideaway, to rise at 220 Highview Drive, will ease that backlog somewhat through the addition of 82 affordable housing units.
Jon McCurry, Eastwood’s Director of Operations details the scope of Eastwood’s existing projects.
“There are 325 units across Elgin county. There are 11 properties, one of which is in Aylmer (Elkview Gardens). That is our newest acquisition.
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St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital Transforming Tomorrow Campaign: It’s about far more than technology, it’s about healthcare transformation, close to home
Editor’s note: City Scope has a new Facebook page at http://facebook.com/St.ThomasCityScope
This week St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital launched a new fundraising campaign because “Our community deserves access to the best possible care right around the corner, not in the next city over.”
That’s the assertion of Jeff Yurek, chair of the Transforming Tomorrow Campaign with a goal of $8 million.
The good news is the campaign is already at about 80 per cent of that target.
The goal is a complete makeover and expansion of the hospital’s diagnostic imaging department. The transformation will include the purchase and installation of the hospital’s first state-of-the-art MRI along with improvements to CT scans, nuclear medicine, X-ray and ultrasound services.
Ensuring residents have access to the highest quality care without the need to travel elsewhere.
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St. Thomas Police Service Diversity Action Plan: Building Inclusive Community Relationships
The St. Thomas Police Service yesterday (May 17) released its Diversity Action Plan. You can view the plan here STPS-Diversity-Action-Plan-2024
The launch of the plan is the “first step of our commitment to creating a more diverse and inclusive police service for our members and our community.”
According to the plan, it is to be used “in coordination with our Strategic Plan to move forward on important issues that our community and our members have identified for action.
“When we recognize diverse perspectives and opinions, we can find alternative solutions that, in turn, help to better address issues specific to our community.”
As evident in headlines over the past several years, policing in Ontario and across Canada is undergoing many changes.
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Can the Elgin County Railway Museum and residential development co-exist? ‘Yes,’ asserts the developer. ‘No,’ responds the neighbour.
It’s coming up on three months since city council unanimously agreed to declare certain parcels of land that partially comprise Jonas Park to be declared surplus to the city and those parcels will be sold to Doug Tarry Limited for future residential development west of the Elgin Country Railway Museum (ECRM).
And it’s been almost three years since Tarry declared proposed residential development on land currently owned by the museum is an opportunity to revitalize that portion of downtown St. Thomas.
In the summer of 2021, Tarry sought to purchase eight acres of railway land immediately west of the museum at $300,000 per acre for a low-rise residential development that would front onto a new street to be created off Ross Street and north of Jonas Street.
