If you redevelop it, they will come

[Chris E]

http://www.financialpost.com/news/redev ... story.html




Rick Spence, Financial Post · Oct. 24, 2011 | Last Updated: Oct. 24, 2011 3:06 AM ET

Across Canada, cashstrapped communities are struggling to redevelop old, worn-out commercial and industrial space. These "brownfield" sites are often ugly, dangerous eyesores that occupy valuable land that could be put to better use.

This is the story of how sensitive redevelopment of a run-down heritage building has revitalized an entire community. You may wonder why this doesn't happen more often. Act 1 The setting is Collingwood, Ont., a waterfront community that once promised to become a transportation and industrial powerhouse, situated on Georgian Bay, close to skiing and beaches. Beyond its thriving main street retail district, however, much of Collingwood's aging core has been neglected.

Our drama begins in 2004. The town council says it intends to tear down some of its oldest buildings, including a stately high school and a three-story hotel known as the Tremont, which is to become a parking lot...

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