Northern Ontario developments!

[tjernobyl]

Originally Posted by vid

As for the Lyceum, I've heard that they're slowly making progress, but I have a feeling that even before they started, the condition of the building was too rough to make it easy for them to repair it. They might have given up, or are stalling in the hopes of either getting more money to complete it, or of the building just collapsing so they can walk away.

It looks like there are two buildings behind the same facade. The smaller one, to the south, was in worse shape. From the Cumberland side, you could watch the rain fall through the roof and then sink through the floor. I believe this section was in the worst shape, and it's been completely demolished internally. That being done, I don't think the rest of the structure is in as much risk of collapse.

[Lmernier]

Construction seems to be stopped again? This has been a slow project.

[TbayON]

Some issues with Tarion I believe are slowing things down... Or have completely stalled the project.

Same contractor is also building the Delta, so resources are likely being pooled at the waterfront while the above is sorted out.

[TbayON]

Some issues with Tarion I believe are slowing things down... Or have completely stalled the project.

Same contractor is also building the Delta, so resources are likely being pooled at the waterfront while the above is being sorted out.

[TbayON]

The former courthouse on Camelot in downtown PA is going to be converted into a hotel. The transaction was recently completed between a southern Ontario numbered company and the government of ontario. My guess would be it'll be a boutique-type hotel as that niche market has not yet been serviced in Thunder Bay, as far as hotels are concerned. Opening is planned in about 1 year.

Also in downtown PA, the next phase of the Hillcrest development is about to go full swing. Hearing these units are in high demand.

A second apartment building should also start going up on John St. Rd. next to the one currently under construction. The new condo unit on Dawson is sounding like it may be delayed though.

[toaster]

Some maps have been released with options for the new electoral districts in the North. I don't think they will be able to create 2 new ridings, probably just one.

http://fnebc-cdcegn.ca/en/maps/

[TbayON]

THUNDER BAY

The province announced Friday that just over $23 million will be spent to expand Westgate high to accept Churchill high school students, to close and demolish the Churchill building, and for construction of a new elementary school on the Churchill site. The plan will also see Edgewater Park and Agnew Johnston schools close to move in the new facility.

[toaster]

Originally Posted by TbayON

THUNDER BAY

The province announced Friday that just over $23 million will be spent to expand Westgate high to accept Churchill high school students, to close and demolish the Churchill building, and for construction of a new elementary school on the Churchill site. The plan will also see Edgewater Park and Agnew Johnston schools close to move in the new facility.

They are very creative in the North at finding ways to get the government to build new schools when growth alone wouldn't merit any new schools. The current way of thinking is to "merge" several schools together (or, in the case of the North-East, merge grades). In 10 years from now, we will be making the case that we should be going back to having local community schools, and move away from these mega schools we are building today.

[vid]

Part of the problem is that all the schools are 45 to 60% capacity, and all of the schools with a few exceptions are from between 1940 and 1980, so they're all simultaneously reaching the point where they need extensive upgrades to become more efficient and they're all so empty that they're not cost effective to operate. Some schools are blowing huge portions of their budget on just maintaining the schools year after year. If the province is going to build a new school for them, the increased efficiency of the new building means significant cost savings for the board. Money that can be re-invested in education.

It doesn't help that both school boards are nearly identical in size and often place schools beside each other, cannibalizing the potential students that could attend those schools and clustering them in certain areas, leaving parts of town without any nearby schools while others have five within a 5 block radius.

Overall, the number of schools in Thunder Bay has declined roughly 30% since 2000. The public board went from having 6 high schools and 40 public schools to 4 (soon to be 3) high schools and 22 (soon to be 21) public schools. Also don't forget that the current system has some schools sharing principals, and in some cases the two schools sharing a principal are miles apart.

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by vid

Part of the problem is that all the schools are 45 to 60% capacity, and all of the schools with a few exceptions are from between 1940 and 1980, so they're all simultaneously reaching the point where they need extensive upgrades to become more efficient and they're all so empty that they're not cost effective to operate. Some schools are blowing huge portions of their budget on just maintaining the schools year after year. If the province is going to build a new school for them, the increased efficiency of the new building means significant cost savings for the board. Money that can be re-invested in education.

It doesn't help that both school boards are nearly identical in size and often place schools beside each other, cannibalizing the potential students that could attend those schools and clustering them in certain areas, leaving parts of town without any nearby schools while others have five within a 5 block radius.

Overall, the number of schools in Thunder Bay has declined roughly 30% since 2000. The public board went from having 6 high schools and 40 public schools to 4 (soon to be 3) high schools and 22 (soon to be 21) public schools. Also don't forget that the current system has some schools sharing principals, and in some cases the two schools sharing a principal are miles apart.

What really needs to happen is that we only have one public school system. Get rid of the 4 boards.

[toaster]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

What really needs to happen is that we only have one public school system. Get rid of the 4 boards.

I think it should be two, having the French system protects the French rights, particularly for those in Southern Ontario, where merging with English boards would ultimately mean extinction.

There is currently a plan for a legal challenge and I do see how it could pass. It would be a huge job to reconfigure the system, and decide where teachers go, who gets what schools, etc, but ultimately it would be worth it. It would also probably wipe free the TDSB's debt, since they would no longer be known as that entity anymore.

[vid]

Merging organizations doesn't wipe out their debt, it just becomes the debt of the new organization. All assets and liabilities of the public and catholic school boards would become the assets and liabilities of a new school board, and the decisions on which schools stay open and which close would likely be made by the new board.

[TbayON]

I was a huge proponent of merging boards since it appeared to be needless duplication (and likely is in a lot of cases). To play the devil's advocate here though, there is something to be said for competition between boards for students (the need to stay on top of things to attract students, potentially making for better education). Also, how often does rationalization actually result in government savings? Hardly ever... generally the ball is dropped somewhere, or closing costs are excessive, etc. Just some thoughts on the other side of things.

[vid]

I like to think I'm still naive enough that simply by the fact that schools are schools, the board will strive to offer the best education and opportunities at all of them.

[LaurenN]

What is Tom Jones building in big open green space...beside Bayview Towers apartment building, on Balmoral north of Beverly Street. Lots of layout and ground boards ???

[vid]

They're renovating the covered parking at Bayview Towers.

[swimmer_spe]

Sudbury

As many may have heard, They finally decided where they are putting the new arena. They decided against downtown.

My personal thoughts - The Mayor and many of the councilors who voted for it not to be downtown will loose their seat in the next election.

[toaster]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

Sudbury

As many may have heard, They finally decided where they are putting the new arena. They decided against downtown.

My personal thoughts - The Mayor and many of the councilors who voted for it not to be downtown will loose their seat in the next election.

Very unfortunate for Sudbury. It's not the late 1990s anymore. The big-box suburban style of urban planning is what seems to have taken over in Sudbury.

[wave46]

Ah, Sudbury. My old stomping grounds.

The city that struggles to catch up with its infrastructure backlog, but hey, a new $80 million arena is a fantastic idea. That'll fix all of our problems! Never mind that there's already a decent one in use downtown that is arguably underutilized as-is.

Sure, the current arena is an older building, but I don't know where people get the idea that just because it is old that it has to be replaced. I mean, I see why Dario Zulich wants a new one - the same reason every hockey team owner wants a government subsidized arena.

We'll see how happy the taxpayers of Sudbury are when the bloom is off the rose and they're still paying for this new toy. I'll give it 5-7 years after it opens before people realize that it was a bad idea.

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by wave46

Ah, Sudbury. My old stomping grounds.

The city that struggles to catch up with its infrastructure backlog, but hey, a new $80 million arena is a fantastic idea. That'll fix all of our problems! Never mind that there's already a decent one in use downtown that is arguably underutilized as-is.

Sure, the current arena is an older building, but I don't know where people get the idea that just because it is old that it has to be replaced. I mean, I see why Dario Zulich wants a new one - the same reason every hockey team owner wants a government subsidized arena.

We'll see how happy the taxpayers of Sudbury are when the bloom is off the rose and they're still paying for this new toy. I'll give it 5-7 years after it opens before people realize that it was a bad idea.

I used to work at the arena dealing with the infrastructure to keep it at the right temperature.
It needs replacement. Far too many days we had a fog in the arena.

However, one next to the city Garbage dump is not a good answer either.

I suspect that come election time, the new mayor will run on putting it back downtown, and they will win.

It really does belong downtown.