January 2012

Vantage Brantford Makes Ideal Living Affordable

The new street lights being installed in the blossoming Vantage Brantford townhome community will shine a light on quality family living.

Built by award-winning Stirling Bridge Homes, Vantage offers a seamless blend of natural beauty and modern convenience. The new development in desirable West Brantford will feature a private park, walking trails, and is steps away from desirable retail amenities. With a bottom line that's surprisingly affordable, freshly-built two-storey homes are starting in the $180,000's. Not surprisingly, sales are brisk throughout this new neighbourhood.

"Excavation for 11 new Vantage townhomes will begin this month", Jeff Wilson explains. "These popular homes are already sold, and buyers will be ready to take possession in the Summer of 2012".

Homes are in high demand, attracting buyers with impressive standard features such as 9-foot ceilings and custom kitchens. Many homes have wrap-around porches, and, as is standard in all Stirling Bridge Homes, these homes are fully Energy Star Certified.

Stirling Bridge Homes' principals Jim McGorman and Jeff Wilson have been clearly enamored with the Brantford area. The company currently has four Brantford-area projects that encompass close to 500 homes in various stages of development. In addition to other recent Stirling Bridge communities in Toronto, Kitchener, and Leamington, later this year Stirling Bridge will begin construction of two exciting new Ontario communities in Paris and Lindsay.

Over seventy years of combined experience in the homebuilding industry has given the Stirling Bridge founders a unique insight into the wants and needs of today's modern families.

"We're constantly comparing other homes in a similar price range and take pride in our attention to quality" says Wilson. "We are not satisfied until we can deliver a better home to our purchasers than they can find anywhere else for the price.

 

Great things happen when people decide to work together.

By: HEATHER THOMSON
Date: Jun 23, 2005

It's amazing what can be accomplished when city hall, developers and citizens' groups work together on urban redevelopment projects. Just look at what's been happening at the old Canadian Blower and Forge site near St. Mary's Hospital in Kitchener.

Only a few years ago, this site was the centre of a controversy over the planned creation of a contaminated soil processing plant. And now it is being transformed into homes for hundreds of people as a developer proceeds with plans for a new residential project.

What was once a source of uncertainty and trouble for the community has become a perfect example of how co-operation between city hall, developers and citizens' groups can really get things accomplished.

Situated just off Queen Street South, half-way between St. Mary's Hospital and the downtown core, the property has a long history in Kitchener. It was the home of Canadian Blower Canada Pumps for many years and, more recently, Howden Fan operated there.

But in the late 1990s, the factory closed and the property sat vacant.

In May 2001, a powder keg of community action was lit when plans to import and treat tonnes of contaminated soil on the vacant property were leaked.

Within days of the news breaking, people in the neighbourhood and other concerned individuals banded together to form the group Concerned Citizens for Neighbourhood Preservation.

With determination and a lot of hard work, we succeeded in blocking the project, but not without overcoming many obstacles, one of which was lack of co-operation from the other parties.

Getting and sharing accurate information was a top priority of the residents' group, but initially, information was rather hard to come by. The waste disposal company kept communication to a minimum and residents were kept in the dark on many key issues.

Even city hall officials initially seemed at a loss to explain how such a major project could have got so far along in the planning process before even a single neighbourhood resident had been notified or consulted.

But city hall quickly took steps to improve communication. One staff member was assigned to keep residents informed and, since that time, the city has continued to keep the residents' group updated on developments as they happen and has done an excellent job of maintaining an open, positive and, most important, two-way communication environment.

Last summer, after it became clear that something would have to be done with this valuable property so close to downtown, city hall directed its attention to the rezoning of the site for possible residential redevelopment.

From the beginning of this new phase in the story, city hall has been very helpful in explaining the process and in keeping the citizens' group "in the loop," even suggesting to the developers that citizen involvement would be beneficial.

Stirling Bridge, the development firm planning the residential development, embraced the concept of including residents in the process and that has made all the difference. Very early on, before any designs were considered, they arranged a meeting with Concerned Citizens for Neighbourhood Preservation to introduce themselves and to hear our concerns.

What a difference an inclusive attitude can make. Our concerns were treated with respect, but most of all, our input was considered vital to the success of the project.

For the first time, residents' concerns were really listened to. As a small example, when asked for an opinion on how we felt about stucco for the exterior of the buildings, we reminded the developers that brick homes would be a better fit with the existing heritage neighbourhood. And that's exactly what they did. Architects' drawings show a beautifully designed development where every home is brick.

To further prove that they meant business in including residents in the project, Stirling Bridge organized a design charette to "kick off" the design phase of the development.

At this design charette, all members of the community were invited to spend a day asking questions, drawing plans and sharing ideas about what type of development would best serve the needs of all concerned.

It was a very positive day as ideas were voiced by the community, city hall staff and the developers, all of whom assisted in forming a common vision for this property that had formerly been the source of so much controversy and division.

Before this event, few people had ever heard of a design charette but, with the resounding success of the day, it seems logical that sessions such as this should become the norm as co-operation between all interested groups becomes accepted as the best way to get things done.

Concerned Citizens for Neighbourhood Preservation couldn't be happier with this new approach. Our residents' group is being treated as one of the players. We are updated on changes as they happen and we freely share our information with all other people at the table. We are not seen as just a nuisance, not just a source of delays. We are full partners in the process.

And this is the way things should be. As a matter of fact, anything less would be counterproductive. Because, let's face it, all of the parties involved in a development issue -- developers, city hall and citizens alike -- come with a special interest.

What makes projects move forward and succeed is the idea that every interest is worthy of consideration and involvement. Once you establish that, there's no limit to what can be accomplished.

So, next time you're in the neighbourhood, why not drive by the property on Woodside Avenue? Cast a glance at the piles of rubble and earth. Then imagine the families in new condominium townhomes and work/live spaces that will soon cover the site.

It's not a dream. It's a reality -- a reality that could only happen through the co-operation of all groups concerned.

It's just the kind of positive redevelopment experience we can hope to see more of as long as groups with different interests are able to sit down, open up, talk and co-operate to realize a common goal.

Heather Thomson was born and raised in Kitchener and is a founding member of Concerned Citizens for Neighbourhood Preservation, a residents' group which won its bid to stop a contaminated soil plant from operating in a downtown neighbourhood.

© 2005  THE RECORD