Earlier this year, I was in a charming country farm home in the Blue Mountains that had been remodeled using only reclaimed and recycled products. It was stunning and I’ve never quite been able to get it out of my head. Since then and, as I continue in my own journey to grow in my [...]
The features that home buyers look for reflect the changing realities of the world we live in. As the average age of the population rises, so does the demand for one storey homes. With environmental issues reaching our collective consciousness, so does the demand for “green” features increase. I spent some time this morning reading [...]
If you own a commercial building or operate a business in Ontario, you should make yourself well aware of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Chris recently attended a seminar on the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service Regulation 2009, which is one of five parts of the being implemented between now and 2025 [...]
The last week has been heavy with learning as I’ve attended a number of meetings and seminars. One featured a speaker from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) who spent a couple of hours educating a room full of REALTORS® about the property valuation process and governing legislation. Another meeting featured Don Mathieson, the Mayor [...]
Quick – when you think of Elora, Fergus or Niagara-on-the-lake, what do you see in your mind’s eye? I think most people would agree that they see quaint old towns built on a foundation of heritage buildings and planning. Take it further and think of places like England, Greece, Rome or Havana and you see [...]
I was so excited after reading a news release about the old Tremont Hotel building, that it was hard to get to sleep. As I mentioned in a previous post on the subject, the Tremont building has sat neglected and abandoned since the town purchased it several years ago with the intention of tearing it down [...]
Despite the fact that Collingwood is surely one of the prettiest towns in the province, the folks living in Olde Towne would likely tell you that their view to the west is anything but pretty. On the north side sits an empty lot and an abandoned, boarded up old rooming house. On the south sits [...]
Nothing fires up debate in Collingwood better than a plan to tear down a heritage building. Every time the issue arises, entrenched camps form with flaring tempers, passionate appeals and political hand wringing. There have often been lines drawn in the sand: tear it down or, fix it and leave it. Neither seems right to [...]
We often talk about our desire to “go green” but outside of replacing fluorescent light bulbs and using organic garbage bins, I’m not sure some people really have been able to translate their desires into concrete action. I’ve been thinking about this a great deal lately as we try to develop our own green plan [...]
Our daily lives are dramatically impacted by the liveability of the community we live in. Access to transit, our civic spaces, community amenities and the form of new development around us impact us the way building heights, trees and sidewalks more obviously do. The Town of Collingwood is undertaking the development of Urban Design Standards. [...]
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