Unlike the City of Brantford where they’ve recently voted to demolish 40 heritage buildings in their historic downtown core, the Town of Collingwood has increasingly shown it’s respect for our heritage assets. On February 8th, council passed its first Heritage Tax Relief By-law. Under this program, owners of significant heritage buildings can apply for a [...]
The debate about the value of heritage preservation of buildings continues in many communities and Collingwood is no exception. While we readily sent old buildings off to landfill sites over the past decades, the tide shifted in recent years toward preserving these landmarks. Collingwood’s downtown is an official Heritage District and is considered one of [...]
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 [...]
For years now, this property located next to the new library (now under construction in the downtown core), has been the subject of much controversy. After having been for sale for an extended period of time, it went off the market and was later purchased by the Town of Collingwood for a significant price that [...]
There were a few interesting tidbits in today’s local newspaper that seem worth sharing: Collingwood issued over $3 million worth of new building permits in September bringing the year-to-date total to a rather stunning $81.18 million for the first nine months of the year compared to $35 million for the same period last year. Seems [...]
Collingwood has some beautiful churches. According to the 2001 census, about 1 in 4 local people did not identify themselves as having any particular religious affiliation however, that means about 75% of people do. Church life plays a prominent role in society and perhaps more so in small communities. The census reported that close to 16% [...]
Sometimes I think I’m so darn lucky with the places my real estate career takes me into. I happen to LOVE heritage buildings and for some reason, I can feel the lives and living that have occurred in the years gone by. (Warning: I also imagine that I know what dogs are saying). It’s as [...]
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