Land for the future

10/06/2004

BY MICHAEL-ALLAN MARION
EXPOSITOR STAFF / BRANTFORD

The city's longtime strategy of developing its own industrial land is paying huge dividends, now that a private developer has entered the picture.

King and Benton Development Corp. - led by local businessman Steve Charest got approval from the city's planning committee Monday to rezone land designated for a privately owned industrial park adjacent to the city's almost full industrial park in the northwest corner of the city.

King and Benton's land lies north of Highway 403, in two parcels east and west of Oak Park Road. The city's industrial park is south of the highway. If the planning committee's decision is approved by council in two weeks, the city will construct an oversized pipe for water and sewage service under Highway 403 to service King and Benton's land. The company will, contribute an undermined amount toward construction of the pipe.

An upshot of this is that the pipe also has the potential to service a proposed ethanol plant adjacent to King and Benton's land. The ethanol plant straddles land owned by the city and Brant County. Current plans are to provide water to the plant from Brant County's sensitive aquifer system. That has been a major concern for environmentalists, particularly those associated with a watchdog group called the Northwest Gateway Committee. That concern is also reflected in the list of conditions for the development's approval. Construction of the pipe across the highway opens up the possibility of servicing the ethanol plant - which typically uses a lot of water - a move that could make the plant more viable.

Before completion of Highway 403 in 1997, Brantford was not on many industries' radar screens when it came to location. The farm implement industry had left and the city's economy was in decline. But dogged marketing of serviceable industrial land made it possible for Brantford to capitalize on completion of the highway. As it became known that Brantford had serviceable land, other companies took notice - the Ferrero Group, and Proctor and Gamble among them.

With city-owned serviceable land now becoming scarce, the need for fast tracked industrial land became acute to take advantage of the momentum.

Brantford was recently the beneficiary of what happens when serviceable land is not readily available when Cameo announced it was relocating a distribution centre here from Hamilton, mainly because no land was available in Hamilton for the company to expand.

If council, as expected, approves Monday night's decision by the city's planning committee, it will ensure not only that such a problem does not arise here, but it makes Brantford more attractive to companies seeking to expand or relocate.

The contribution to the city from businesses locating on this industrial land can't be underestimated. Stable jobs, a diversified economic sector and an expanding tax base are the staples of a sound economy. And now that private industry has expressed an interest in developing industrial land, we can expect a strong marketing partnership to lure more companies.

With developments such as this, Brantford should never again suffer the devastation caused by a decline or exodus of a handful of companies.