For 20 years, the fate of the old Ontario Reformatory Lands have been a matter of some question, and the answer to that question is complicated by the tangled web of ownership. As successive governments have worked to untangle that web, all that residents and history buffs have been able to do is plan, advocate and educate, but what happens now that we’re so close to revealing the final fate of the OR Lands? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #339 – Too Beautiful to Fail”
Breaking news! A new development group, Forgetit Developments proposes a forest for the city’s Innovation District and Clair-Maltby lands. Towering over the landscape…trees. Forgetit Developments is to install a forest on the city’s Ontario Reformatory lands and Guelph’s southend. Continue reading “OPINION: A Modest Proposal for Our Greenfield Areas”
At a meeting of Heritage Guelph on Monday, the members of the committee got a chance to talk to the consultant reviewing the Heritage Conservation District merits of the Ontario Reformatory lands. In the course of the workshop, we learned where we are in the process, what is happening next, and how Guelph area residents can help out with their own ideas and information. Check out the recap of the meeting below. Continue reading “RECAP: Heritage Guelph Kicks Off Comments on Reformatory Heritage Area”
A few days ago, Guelph-based builder Fusion Homes announced that they had closed the deal to buy the Guelph Innovation District Lands. A slick video posted on social media promised “thousands of jobs, and endless new entertainment, shopping and dining experiences,” but was that the point of creating the GID in the first place? One concerned Guelphite wants the developer to remember the core ideas of the GID in the first place. Continue reading “OP-ED: Will the Guelph Innovation District Be Everything We Want it To Be?”
The first two city council meetings of the month covered a lot of ground. At Committee of the Whole there were complex debates about the Trails Master Plan and executing the goals of infrastructure renewal, and then, at the planning meeting, it was all about saving the old Guelph Reformatory lands. Here’s the first half of the monthly recap of council business for this sixth month of the year 2021. Continue reading “This Month at Council Part 1: Trails Master Plan and the Reformatory Lands”
More heritage planning and 26 delegates will make this another long meeting. You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of today’s council meeting, you can follow along on Twitter, or follow the tweets below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for June 14, 2021”
June’s planning meeting has two relatively small items, and one pretty big item. Heritage is the theme, more specifically protecting heritage and in this case the location is the old Reformatory lands on York Road. In a move that’s been years in the making, city council will be considering formal heritage designations for the property, but not for every building that currently sits on that land. Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the June 14 Meeting?”
We sure covered a lot of news in 2019, but 2020 is an all-new year with all new challenges and opportunities. Although the future is uncertain, and we’re technically not in the prediction business, we can make some educated guesses about what stories might make the Top 10 in the coming year, and here are some possible suggestions… Continue reading “10 Questions About Guelph Politics in 2020?”
Tonight, council will hear an update on the Smart Cities Challenge submission, and the Guelph Innovation District lands. You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of today’s council meeting, you can follow along on Twitter, or follow the tweets below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for March 25, 2019”
This month of council meetings comes to a close with a Smart Cities Update, and further discussion about finally moving the Guelph Innovation District lands. Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the March 25 Meeting?”
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