Steve Charest is shooting for the stars

10/01/2006

BY COLLEEN TOMS
VIBRANT MAGAZINE

It is said that people dream in black and white. When Steve Charest dreams, he dreams in Technicolor – IMAX size.

With a passion that is matched only by the magnitude of the projects he takes on, Charest, president and founder of King & Benton Development Corporation, is making an impact on Brantford in a huge way. Since being the first to tackle the city's derelict Brownfield sites, to investing in local organizations and events that affect the very lives of community residents, to embarking on a monumental industrial and retail development project that will change the social and economic fabric of this community, Charest, 41, is clearly a man who is driven.

And he's driven to succeed.

But for Charest success is not measured strictly by monetary gains, it is measured by the impact each project has on the community. "My vision is to bring Brantford back on a global scale to where it was many years ago in terms of industry and prosperity," he said recently.

When Charest first happened across Brantford 10 years ago he saw a city that was still reeling from massive lay-offs, factory closures and a neglected downtown core. "Years ago Brantford came across some difficult times," he noted. "But when I go to the market and look at the pictures on the walls, I get a sense of prosperity and community, a sense of well-being. That's where I want Brantford to be again.

"I want to make sure the community is sustainable and that can only be achieved through institutions and people who are in a position to effect change. What you then get is a community that is well-rounded and healthier...Effective growth revenue streams allow us to seriously start developing our social conscience."

But it's one thing to dream, it's another thing to have the tools and the knowledge to make those dreams a reality. Charest has shown time and again that he not only has the will, he also has the way.

"When I initially came to Brantford I saw an opportunity to buy old industrial Brownfield sites at discounted prices. I had no idea at the time what Brownfield sites were all about. Brownfield processes can be very challenging and very complicated but we developed an expertise that allowed us to be successful. By getting in there and getting my fingernails dirty an understanding evolved."

Over the years King and Benton has successfully completed a series of Brownfield reclamation projects including the $4 million Morrell Street project that transformed an abandoned factory into a flourishing business centre. Touted as the largest redevelopment project west of the Greater Toronto Area, it breathed new life into the city and offered a promise for a brighter future.

The revitalization of the former Work Wear site on Wellington Street into a thriving YM-YWCA Family Program Centre is among Charest's favourites. "The YMCA was in Brantford for 150 years and was in need of critical care. Having the Y close permanently or temporarily was not an option."

The YMCA was a valued institution that helped guide and mould Charest during his growth years. It has the same impact on youth today. "You can go there any day of the week and see the gym full of kids being taught by kids who went through the system. We need more of that."

For Charest, the success of the Y project is magnified by the look of joy and wellbeing on the faces of its young members. And it is the youth of the community that inspire him to invest in organizations and events that create a sense of pride in the city they call home.

"I look at the kids that are lost and the graffiti on the walls and then I go home and take a look at my own kids and ask myself: what are they going to do when we're not here? The challenges faced by the incoming generation in my mind, needs to change.

"We have a common theme in everything we do at King and Benton - we want to come up with ways to make things better. I want to continue to develop our social conscience and bring our kids back, they are looking for somebody to help them and I would like to see the community as a whole participate in those solutions so our youth once again feel like they belong."

Supporting organizations like the Why Not Mission, the local food bank, SPCA and Brant United Way is important to Charest and will help facilitate the community's revitalization.

Charest believes economic development is "the central nervous system of every community." By building the city's economy, more support can be afforded to non-profit organizations and events like the Brantford Canada Day Festival.

So with his current massive undertaking on Oak Park Road, where he plans to build a $500 million industrial park and retail power centre, Brantford will once again be able to stand up and be noticed, economically and socially.

"My favourite business development project is definitely going to be Oak Park," he enthused. And while this project, his most ambitious to date, may seem like a dream, it is an attainable one. Just like every dream that Charest is passionate about.

"We're shooting for the stars but we're going to get there and get on with it," he said. "The residents of this community now know that they can contribute, they have a voice. That's very powerful stuff and with that realization, we can move forward."