The promotion was called Sleepless In Our City, a well-intentioned fundraiser for the United Way of Elgin-St. Thomas. In capsule form, former MP Joe Preston and Tim Smart, the regional sales manager for a couple of local radio stations, were going to bundle up and spend the night sleeping – if possible – in the back seat of their respective cars. In the case of Tim, a Honda Civic.
It’s fast approaching the one-year anniversary of the announcement last April the city has extended a conditional offer to London developer Shmuel Farhi to purchase a vacant plot of land on the south side of Talbot St., between William and Queen streets, and extending to Centre Street.
The site is being considered for development of a community hub to house the Ontario Works department and the Central Community Health Centre, both currently occupying office space along the north side of Talbot Street. The possibility also exists the site could be used for affordable housing units.
In the intervening months, the city has undertaken due diligence. Time is becoming a factor, however, as the lease on the Mickleborough building at 423 Talbot Street current home of Ontario Works and also owned by Farhi, expires later this year.
It was a case of hit the pause button Tuesday at the Elgin County Courthouse as the Sutherland Press building saga entered a new year.
It may be the start of a new year with the glimmer of a brighter tomorrow, however in St. Thomas one thing remains a constant.
A near decade-long battle to level what the city deems an unsafe structure is headed back to the courts Tuesday in Round 3 of the Sutherland Saga.
David McGee, owner of the Sutherland Press building, will pick up where he left off in November — pleading his case to halt the city’s efforts to demolish the four-storey Talbot Street edifice constructed in 1913. Continue reading
Held over for another big year . . . The Sutherland Saga.
Watch the City of St. Thomas and David McGee, owner of Sutherland Lofts, pick up where they left off in 2016 . . . back in court.
That’s right, after issuing another work order late in October against the owner of the four-storey Sutherland Press building, McGee has tossed it back in the city’s corner with the declaration, see you in court.
On October 28, the city slapped a new unsafe building order on McGee with what city manager Wendell Graves called a very specific time line.
“They have until Dec. 15 to provide a detailed work plan and schedule to get the thing remedied and then work has to commence by the 9th of January,” Graves told this corner. Continue reading
A month after failing in its bid to proceed with demolition, the city has again slapped a work order on the Sutherland Press building and owner David McGee.
On Sept. 27 at the Elgin County Courthouse, Justice Gorman ruled a previous order issued in March of this year warning of demolition for failure to comply were null and void due to improper delivery and lack of specificity on the part of the city.
That order called for immediate replacement of spalling or damaged bricks and securing the roof, which had suffered a partial collapse.
Last Friday, city manager Wendell Graves confirmed a new unsafe building order has been issued to McGee.
Endorsed Monday by city council, the Complete Street guidelines are “”a shift in mindset from the historical car-centric streets to modern multi-purpose streets that appropriately support all modes of transportation,” advised David Jackson, the city’s manager of capital works.
It’s an ambitious blueprint for the future with an aim to design, create and build streetscapes that accommodate users of all ages and abilities and all modes of transportation including pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and transit users.
However we could argue there is little clear direction on the latter save for continued road reconstruction to lessen the shake, rattle and roll that hastens the demise of city buses. Continue reading
Round 3 is coming up momentarily. Of course we’re talking about the Sutherland Saga, the seemingly endless courtroom soap opera.
In the last episode, culminating on Sept. 27, Justice Gorman accepted Sutherland Press building owner David McGee’s submission at a May hearing in the Elgin County Courthouse that Sutherland Loft Inc. did not receive notice of a building order issued by the city and its president was unaware, specifically, the building might be demolished if not remediated by the owner.
McGee’s lawyer, Valerie M’Garry, argued in March of this year the city did not properly deliver via registered mail a letter warning demolition of the building would begin at the end of that month because of noncompliance with a property standards order. The order called for immediate replacement of spalling or damaged bricks and securing the roof, which had suffered a partial collapse. Continue reading
