It’s all about seeing cranes reaching up into the sky over St. Thomas.
That was the observation of Mayor Joe Preston on Wednesday morning (Nov. 22) for the groundbreaking ceremony at the 14-storey Highlands Tower 1 apartment building.
It’s Phase 2 of the redevelopment of the former Timken Canada property at Talbot Street and First Avenue.
“It’s the beginning of the next phase of the growth here,” suggested Preston, “and what a great team they have on this project and how beautiful this will be for this corner.
“An old brownfield site of an industry. I loved the Timken company when it was here, but what a great way to re-purpose the site we’re standing on.”
The 162-unit development is being undertaken by Fast Forward Ventures Capital of London.
In March of last year, approval was granted for the first of several towers expected to rise on the property.
Preston called it one more step in attacking the city’s housing shortage.
Category Archives: Technological innovation
Sutherland Saga sees St. Thomas held for ransom
Just when we thought the Sutherland Saga could not plunge deeper into the abyss of absurdity, what happens but it does just that.
In a decision rendered Tuesday (Sept. 27), Justice Gorman declined to rule on owner David McGee’s request for an injunction to halt demolition of the four-storey structure deemed unsafe by city engineers.
Instead, Justice Gorman did accept McGee’s submission at the May hearing in the Elgin County Courthouse that Sutherland Loft Inc. did not receive notice of a building order and its president was unaware, specifically, the building might be demolished if not remediated by the owner. Continue reading
Share this:
Wind farms come to Kingsville in County of Essex
“If you protect woodlots… why aren’t you protecting people?” asked Coun. Tamara Stomp who was opposed to the renewable energy and wind farm resolutions.
Kingsville (Essex, Ontario’s southernmost county) council voted Monday to allow renewable energy projects in the former Gosfield North and allow a wind turbine project in the northwest corner of Kingsville.
As a point of interest, the former Gosfield South wasn’t included in Kingsville’s policies. It was described as a more sensitive area that includes the Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary. Council would consider a proposal for renewable energy there if it came up.
Share this:
Going green without disrupting the environment
While there is growing commercial interest in green energy, aspiring wind producers — ranging from international industrial-sized operations to small co-operatives — still face a host of regulatory hurdles in Canada, including a gauntlet of environmental assessments, municipal bylaws, requirements of electric utilities and the demands of community activists that differ from province to province.
Although Canada’s Constitution Act does not consider wind to be a natural resource as it does with forests, water or minerals — nobody can claim to own the wind-it does give the responsibility for electricity to the provinces, all of which have taken different approaches.
Share this:
14 Things You Probably Never Considered About Making Trucks More Efficient
After three days’ discussion by trucking suppliers, OEMs, drivers, and industry experts, the technological potential for drastic trucking efficiency gains—as well as the complexity of the barriers preventing their adoption—has never been clearer.
Full story
Share this:
Speaking Truth to Wind Power
Erie Shores Wind Farm
by Michael Trebilcock
ScienceAndPublicPolicy.org
The Green Energy Act (Bill 150), now before the Ontario Legislature, is designed to expedite this process by taking planning responsibilities away from local municipalities like ours and remitting key decisions to subsequent ministerial regulations, leaving local residents no say in matters that will dramatically impact their lives and future generations. While we are obviously personally affected by this legislation, the following comments reflect a professional career studying economic regulation, including a year as Research Director of the Ontario Government’s Electricity Market Design Committee (1998). I have four major objections to the legislation.
Full story
Share this:
High-speed rail is coming to the U.S. so when will we get on track in Canada?
It’s one of Obama’s greenest ideas–even though it may be underfunded–but news broke today (April 16-09) that a massive high speed rail is officially on the way. The president’s announcement included an outline of 10 corridors around the US that will each likely see rail begin construction. So buckle up. Obama’s serious about getting our transportation system up to the cutting edge—here’s a guide to his plan, and a breakdown of the cities slated for a high speed transit future.
Full story
Share this:
Lorain Looks Off Shore At Lake Erie Wind Farm
From 90.3FM WCPN website:
Former ironworker John James Sekulic wants to put his brother ironmen back to work – by having them construct multiple Ohio wind farms through his company.
Sekulic’s company has applied for a $10 million grant from the state Air Quality Authority, and this week got further backing of the Lorain government, which favors a wind farm at the western edge of the city, about 2 miles off shore.
But the Ohio Department of Natural Resources hasn’t quite completed developing a regulatory process to award underwater land leases for wind turbine development. Sekulic’s firm needs 13 of those leases to start building 13 wind turbines, and he’s giving state officials a strong incentive to approve them.
JOHN JAMES SEKULIC: The reason we’re doing this is to create economic development and job creation.
Once the state signs off on it, Sekulic says the wind farm off Lorain could be operational in 5 to 7 years.
Share this:
Hot Air on Wind Energy
Don’t expect wind power to replace coal as the main source of electric power in the U.S., whatever Obama’s interior secretary said.
Converting wind to enough electricity to replace all U.S. coal-fired plants would require building 3,540 offshore wind farms as big as the world’s largest, which is off the coast of Denmark. So far the U.S. has built exactly zero offshore wind farms.
Another government study last year concluded that to supply just 20 percent of U.S. electricity with wind turbines would require land-based equipment taking up an area “slightly less than the area of Rhode Island,” plus scores of offshore wind farms.
Full story
