Tag Archives: Doug Tarry

10.25.25
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‘The dream of home ownership cannot be extinguished, it has to stay alive in this province’ – Rob Flack, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing

This week, the provincial government introduced the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025, that, if passed, would build “a more prosperous, resilient and competitive economy by fighting costly delays and regulatory burdens that slow the delivery of homes, roads, and infrastructure that communities need.”
The legislation would cut red tape, thereby getting shovels in the ground faster, added Rob Flack, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
“With tariffs and economic uncertainty taking aim at our economy, we’re working with municipal leaders and homebuilders to get shovels in the ground faster so we can build more homes and keep workers on the job,” noted Flack.

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09.14.24
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The St. Thomas Elgin Food Bank: ‘Some days we all feel like we’re drowning’

Over one million Ontario residents last year visited a food bank. That indicator of a surging affordability crisis in the province was contained in data released this past Tuesday (Sept. 10) by Feed Ontario.
Digging further into the report, food banks in the province were visited 7.6 million times over the year, an increase of 134 per cent from 2019-20.
It marks an all-time high and the eighth straight year an increase has been recorded.
Feed Ontario unites food banks, industry partners and communities as it strives to end poverty and hunger.
“When we released record-breaking data last year, we thought that was the high-water mark,” advised Feed Ontario CEO Carolyn Stewart.

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09.07.24
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Eastwood’s latest affordable housing project Highview Hideaway: ‘This is just another example of what we can do when we work together’

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.

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07.13.24
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The sale of Elgin County Railway Museum land helps it ‘create a strategy for a sustainable future’

Doug Tarry calls the sale of a parcel of land to the west of the Elgin County Railway Museum an innovative first step to revitalize the downtown railway lands.
The deal was completed on June 28 of this year for $2.4 million and a ceremony was held this past Tuesday at the museum to celebrate the move forward.
The St. Thomas developer made that revitalization observation almost three years ago. On Feb. 20 of this year, 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 were to be sold to Doug Tarry Limited (DTL).
In the summer of 2021, Tarry sought to purchase the eight acres of railway land 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.
The land transaction has not been without controversy.

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06.29.24
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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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06.22.24
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Residential growth in St. Thomas to push west from Wellington Road

A week after city council received a growth analysis study predicting the population of St. Thomas will almost double by 2051, members Monday evening (June 17) got an insight into where many of those newcomers may live.
A sprawling residential development stretching from Wellington Road northwest to Major Line is being proposed by two developers.
Landrise Developments/Don West Construction and Lecram Inc. have acquired the majority of land in the Sandymount Development Area with a proposal to add almost 1,500 housing units, including single detached homes, townhouses and high-density apartments.

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05.18.24
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St. Thomas Police Service Diversity Action Plan: Building Inclusive Community Relationships

city_scope_logo-cmykThe 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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05.11.24
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Can the Elgin County Railway Museum and residential development co-exist? ‘Yes,’ asserts the developer. ‘No,’ responds the neighbour.

city_scope_logo-cmykIt’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.

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05.04.24
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Modular housing: Part of the solution to put the ‘missing middle’ into homes they can afford while building equity

city_scope_logo-cmykOntario plans to move ahead with its plan to build more modular homes including on government surplus lands.
That was the message from Elgin-Middlesex-London MPP and Associate Minister of Housing in the province’s effort to cut red tape when it comes to increasing the housing supply.
We talked with Flack shortly after the media release went out to delve deeper into the concept of modular homes and their role in the future.
He advised a housing forum was held in Toronto last November where various housing stakeholders got together for a day to identify deliverables needed to speed up homebuilding in the province.
Among those attending was St. Thomas homebuilder Doug Tarry.
“And one of the pieces is modular or factory-built homes and so we’ve been working on getting this market sounding out.
“There are all types of modular homebuilders in Ontario. Big scale ones down to smaller ones.”

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