ON Economic Fundamentals 2008-11

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1108BAOR
East-end troubles targeted

Problem parking, late-night parties and other issues have abounded in neighbourhoods around Georgian College.

With more growth set to take place at the college, many in the area are wondering where students will be able to find appropriate accommodation. The college`s proposed health and wellness centre is expected to bring another 3,000 college students to Georgian`s Barrie campus, and to the city.

The mix of young students -- many out on their own for the first time -- and families has led to arguments, confrontations and, in some cases, charges being laid by police.

http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDi....aspx?e=1280851

 

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1108BTFD
Area home sales fell 13.4% last month

The local real estate market cooled in October.

"Along with the fall weather and the fall in the stock market, the resale homes also fell with unit sales down 13.4 per cent," said Stewart Anderson, president of the Brantford Regional Real Estate Association.

The value of the 161 home sales in October was about $33.4 million -- a decrease of 16.6 per cent from the same month last year.

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDi....aspx?e=1280976

 

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1108BTFD
Battleground waterfront

City councillors could be setting the stage for a major battle as they consider passing an interim bylaw that would freeze development of lands along the Grand River until a waterfront master plan is ready.

"A big shift in thinking about our waterfront is starting to happen, and I`m pleased to see it," Coun. Marguerite Ceschi-Smith said in an interview.

Ceschi-Smith won unanimous support for a resolution that that could pit developers with properties along the Grand against residents who want the municipality to protect the waterfront.

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDi....aspx?e=1280984

 

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1108BTFD
Grand River Ave. housing project placed in limbo

A builder is furious after watching his project to redevelop the former Penman brownfield property on Grand River Avenue get caught up in political and legal wrangles.

Uri Salmona stormed angrily out of the council chamber this week after the committee of the whole narrowly rejected an application by Salmona Tragunno Inc. and Napev Construction to repeal an earlier rezoning of the waterfront property at 232 Grand River Ave.

The rezoning would allow the developer to construct two six-storey high-rises and surrounding townhouses on a vacant lot that was once a Penman textile factory. The property is one of the city`s 15 brownfield sites targeted for action.

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDi....aspx?e=1280962

 

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1108BTFD
Plan a road map to Brant`s future

Each workday, 7,000 of Brant County`s more than 31,000 residents leave the municipality to make a living.

More than 4,400 of them commute to Brantford for work, while the rest go to other nearby urban centres, including Cambridge, Hamilton and Kitchener.

But the traffic also goes both ways.

About 4,200 people travel to the county for employment purposes, more than 3,600 of them from Brantford, according to a draft version of the county`s new master transportation plan.

A transportation plan -- slated to be received by county politicians this week -- may sound like a dry document, but it will be important to Brant`s future.

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDi....aspx?e=1280959

 

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1108OTWA
Ottawa home sales slip, but prices rise

Ottawa`s resale housing market is easing back to 2006 levels, according to the Ottawa Real Estate Board.

However, average sale prices are still on the rise.

At the end of October, 12,619 residential properties had been sold through the board`s Multiple Listing Service, compared to 12,217 at the same time in 2006, said board president Heather Skuce. By comparison, 13,069 homes changed hands in the first 10 months of 2007.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/c...70-aa364ba4f7c3

 

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1108ONTR
Analysts see up to 5,000 more layoffs at Nortel

TORONTO - Nortel Networks Corp. could shed between 3,000 and 5,000 jobs when it details its latest restructuring plan next week, analysts said yesterday.

The company, North America`s biggest maker of telephone gear, said in September that a weak economy and spending cuts by the telecom companies that buy its equipment will lead to lower sales. It said these factors will necessitate new job cuts, but it did not specify a number.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/b...8a-6d1c63fc9af1

 

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1108HAMN
Hamilton to set up strip club buffer zone

The city is making sure your next neighbour isn`t a strip club.

Hamilton is updating its adult entertainment bylaw to ensure any new or relocating clubs can`t move within 500 metres of a residential neighbourhood. The buffer zone already exists for body rub parlours.

In addition, the city wants floor plans for new clubs to identify "clandestine areas which might require additional attention during inspections."

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/461258

 

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1108KWCG
Southeast Galt schools face change

CAMBRIDGE

There are no concrete scenarios yet, but there were already plenty of strong opinions expressed last night at a public meeting about what to do about a group of schools in the southeast Galt area of Cambridge.

The meeting at Lincoln Avenue Public School was the first in a series of public meetings for an accommodation review affecting seven elementary schools.

http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/439433

 

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1108ONTR
Government help for auto parts industry `not enough`

GUELPH

Existing government loan programs to assist the reeling auto parts sector are not good enough to avert the current credit crisis, the president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association said yesterday.

"They (government programs) don`t address the liquidity crisis we have right now," Gerry Fedchun said in an interview.

Fedchun was in Guelph yesterday to speak at the third annual Moving Business Forward conference.

http://news.therecord.com/Business/article/439480

 

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1108YAUR
Empty storefronts, traffic key targets of Aurora study

It`s hardly a secret Aurora has long had something of a love-hate relationship with its downtown.

Most residents seem to love the vintage architecture and friendly merchant community in the area, but can`t stand the traffic. It drives some to distraction.

And Mayor Phyllis Morris seems to understand that delicate juxtaposition. It`s one of the many reasons the town is subjecting the Yonge-Wellington corridor to a 12-month study designed to find ways to renew and revitalize the area while preserving its heritage.

http://www.yorkregion.com/News/Aurora/article/83842

 

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1108YGEO
Financing in place for Georgina building project

The $70-million Crates Landing development on the Maskinonge River has received full financing and construction will begin shortly, council was told last week.
"We have received a commitment letter from our financial institution to finance the entire project and get going as soon as possible," John Blackburn, president of development team BrightStar Corporation, said. "We expect to have our funds by sometime in December."

http://www.yorkregion.com/News/Georgina/article/83853

 

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1108DWTB
Brooklin`s "one downtown" threatened

BROOKLIN -- The emergence of retail development in southwest Brooklin will result in the "death of the downtown," says the president of the Brooklin downtown business association. "We acknowledge without any hesitation that we need a lot more retail, so we`re not against significant commercial development for Brooklin, but we just want it done right," David Stewart said.

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/whitby/article/112117

 

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1108DWTB
Making Whitby`s downtown even better

WHITBY -- Fresh hot spots and a boost in safety are in store for Whitby as part of plans to revitalize the downtown. Councillors heard an array of ideas from the Town`s downtown development steering committee aimed at re-establishing downtown Whitby as a desirable and vibrant small town with a variety of opportunities for shopping, dining and cultural activity.

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/whitby/article/112118

 

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1108TNTO
Toronto home sales plunge 35 per cent

Toronto realtor Charles Wang is still seeing a lot of traffic at open houses these days, but the deals on the ground are getting thinner.

"People are coming in – but when you ask them why they`re not buying, they say that they`re waiting for prices to drop further," the veteran Century 21 agent said yesterday.

"You hear this all the time."

http://www.yourhome.ca/homes/article/531478

 

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1108ONTR
Barack could be boon to Ontario car industry

Ontario`s battered economy will benefit from Barack Obama`s ascent to the White House as the Democrat`s presidency will likely mean more government aid for the U.S. auto industry, provincial ministers predicted yesterday.

Increased support for the U.S. sector can only help automakers and manufacturers in Ontario, said International Trade Minister Sandra Pupatello.

http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandg...322126-sun.html

 

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1108CATH
Mayor defends city hall`s support of downtown Thorold

The facade improvement program. A downtown community policing office. A tourism centre that directs traffic to the city`s core.

Those are just a few of what members of Thorold`s Business Improvement Association will see on a list Mayor Henry D`Angela wants compiled for their benefit.

It`s an exercise to prove city hall isn`t neglecting the downtown, despite the suggestion in the BIA`s recent strategic plan.

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/Article....aspx?e=1283770

 

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1108BTFD
`No comment` on Oak Park project from King and Benton

Local developer King and Benton is remaining tight-lipped about a sudden freeze on a $500-million Oak Park North industrial and commercial complex that it has been undertaking in the northwest industrial area.

"We have no comment about that," vice-president Scott Higgins said, when reached Wednesday.

City officials are wondering what will happen next to the project since Mayor Mike Hancock reported in a special council meeting Monday that Higgins notified the city in a closed-door meeting last week that the company had failed to secure appropriate financing for its proposed complex, to be located on both sides of Oak Park Road north of Highway 403.

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDi....aspx?e=1283039

 

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1108BTFD
Warehouse eyed for housing development

Aproposal from King and Benton to turn its warehouse at the old Harding Carpets plant into a multi-style residential community is garnering some cautious community support.

While the company hasn`t applied to city hall for permits or made any kind of official move, it hosted a neighbourhood meeting on Tuesday to gauge public opinion about the idea.

"We got an early notice from Mitton Vinyl (one of the warehouse tenants) that they`re moving next year so we thought we can either continue industrial here or go residential," said King and Benton vice president Scott Higgins. "Our preference is residential."

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDi....aspx?e=1282999

 

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1108BAOR
Think tank takes on local industrial job losses

So many industrial jobs have drained out of Orillia you can hear a "giant sucking sound," says Ed Konda, past president of the Orillia Manufacturers Association.

"We`ve lost a tremendous amount of manufacturing jobs in the last decade. We want them back."

Numbers compiled by the OMA indicate that eight plants closed in the last decade, resulting in the loss of 625 jobs.

Five major closures prior to 2000 cost 440 jobs.

While many of the closures are symptomatic of a general decline in manufacturing in Ontario, the losses in Orillia seem excessive, said Konda.

http://www.orilliapacket.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1283366