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Wed Nov 23, 2005
Y Celebrates temporary home
BY MICHAEL-ALLAN MARION
EXPOSITOR STAFF / BRANTFORD
A round of celebratory speeches and a visit by Jim Watson, the Minister of Health Promotion, marked the official opening Tuesday of the YM-YWCA’s new facility, the Crosby Cable Family Program Centre.
About 100 people in a gymnasium also heard dignitaries laud Steve Charest of King & Benton Redevelopment Corp. He is credited with completing the $1.2 million project on a non-profit basis to transform the old Work Wear building into a bright new facility.
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Mon Nov 14, 2005
Farmer co-op buys land for ethanol plant
ntegrated Grain Processors Co-operative announced Friday afternoon that it has acquired a 54-acre property from King & Benton Development Corp. on the south side of Old Onondaga Road in the Cainsville industrial park, just over the county line.
“I’m pleased that IGPC has acknowledged there may be a tremendous amount of benefit in choosing this location,” said Steve Charest, president of King & Benton.
“It was a difficult decision for IGPC and King & Benton, but sometimes it takes difficult decisions to make projects better.”
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Fri Oct 28, 2005
Ethanol plant's possible move fuelling negotiations
Discussions between Brantford, Brant County, a developer and a local farmer-led co-operative are progressing to move the location of a proposed ethanol plant from the city’s northwest over to Cainsville.
King & Benton Development Corp., which earlier this year sold land in its Oak Park North business park to Integrated Grain Processors Co-operative for its $86-million corn ethanol plant, has filed an application with Brant County this week to rezone a 54-acre parcel of land on Old Onondaga Road that it has purchased in the Cainsville industrial area.
King & Benton president Steve Charest said that the rezoning action is to facilitate a change of location he is seeking for the co-op's yet-to-be built plant and allow for an expanded operation.
“We constantly look for ways to make something that is good better, and I think IGPC follows that concept, too,” said Charest.
The co-op has acquired a permit from the Ministry of the Environment to take 1,600 litres of water per minute from the aquifer.
However, concern about the long-term viability of the aquifer continues to be registered by environmentalists on the watchdog Northwest Gateway Committee, and by city council.
“We have concerns about them drawing from the aquifer,” said Hancock, “so there are advantages to the plant being located in Cainsville.”
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Thu Oct 27, 2005
Y facility good fit in East Ward
BY MICHAEL-ALLAN MARION
EXPOSITOR STAFF / BRANTFORD
In the 5:30 predawn darkness of Tuesday morning, staff unlocked the main doors to the new Y Family Program Centre at Wellington and Clarence streets to find members standing about, pumped to be the first to use the new, top-rated workout machines.
Nearly two months after the YM-YWCA closed the doors on its longtime 40 Queen St. building, it is reborn in a gleaming new facility with the early 1900s International industrial architectural style resurrected from the drab, bricked-in former textile Work Wear factory that had descended into a brownfield site.
The project was made possible with the help of brownfield developer Steve Charest, president of King & Benton Redevelopment Corp., who helped finance the $1-million-plus costs with a long-term lease with no profit, then execute the renovations.
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Mon Sep 26, 2005
Charest opens doors to community room
EXPOSITOR STAFF / BRANTFORD
Developer Steve Charest felt that Doors Open Brant was a perfect way to present a gift to the community and announce the end of his largest brownfield restoration project yet.
He cut the ribbon – actually a strip of symbolic red tape – on the new Holmedale Heritage Community Room in King and Benton’s finished Holmedale Business Centre on Morrell Street and invited the community to use it – free of charge.
Non-profit groups and local clubs can book the room between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m.
To book the new Holmedale Heritage Community Room, call 752-2714.
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City's sites swing doors wide open
BY Susan Gamble
EXPOSITOR STAFF / BRANTFORD
Fourteen sites, including church buildings, city hall, a former brownfield property and private residences, opened their doors to the curious public, who responded with enthusiasm.
Aimed mainly at adults, the tour include variety of sites, from the Cockshutt memorabilia display to the farm art studio of Marsha Edgars. For kids, there was a bouncy gym, face-painting and a Big Brother barbecue at the old Harding Carpets project – now known as the Holmedale Business Centre.
The Open Doors launch, which took place at the Morrell Street site, included the opening of King and Benton’s Holmedale Heritage Community Room, which contains artefacts and photos of the business complex that was built in sections from 1916 to 1986.
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Sat Sep 24, 2005
History, culture on display
BY Vincent Ball
EXPOSITOR STAFF / BRANTFORD
There will be lots to see, do and learn during this year’s Doors Open Brant.
Open Doors Brant is an invitation to visit 14 sites in Brantford, Brant County and Six Nations/New Credit. The sites demonstrate the area’s cultural treasurers and architectural legacies.
Doors Open Brant also marks the official opening of the Holmedale Business Centre located at the site of the former Harding Carpets building on Morrell Street.
“A lot of work has gone into the Holmedale Business Centre and I think a lot of people will be really impressed with what’s been done there,” Chamberlain said. “They’re going to have lots going on including tours and games for the kids.”
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Sat Sep 10, 2005
Saying goodbye to Queen Street Y
BY Susan Gamble
EXPOSITOR STAFF / BRANTFORD
There are two things that are making this goodbye bearable for the women: one is the unswerving belief that once you’re part of the Y, you never really leave it, and the other is the heavenly thought of going to a better place.
That’s the new – although temporary – Y building just blocks away on Clarence Street.
The plan is to settle in the transitional site at the old Work Wear building for several years while work progresses on a $12-million facility on Market Street South.
Down at the new site, tradesmen working with a process called Dryvit are finalizing the shape of a layer of Styrofoam on the exterior of the building. The foam helps insulate the building and is topped with mesh netting, concrete and a fine stucco.
Everyone liked the elegant look so much that it’s been incorporated into the 6,000 square-foot strength and conditioning area where the other great attribute is a huge wall of windows.
“It’s going to be just awesome in here,” raved Romanenko.
Outside, as the workers smooth the Styrofoam shell, creating a flurry of white “snow” that falls around them, Steve Charest surveys the 18,300 square-foot project with delight.
Charest isn’t just a member of the Y and its board, he’s the developer behind the project which combines two of his passions: renovating brownfield sites and the Y.
“I love this project. It gives back to the community at no cost to the community,” said Charest enthusiastically.
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Mon Aug 15, 2005
A bargain-hunter's paradise
BY Susan Gamble
EXPOSITOR STAFF / BRANTFORD
United Way’s warehouse sale attracts thousands.
The early birds caught the best selection but the stragglers snagged the bargains at the annual United Way Giant Warehouse Sale.
With thousands of people pouring through one of the King and Benton warehouses on Mohawk Street, the sale was an acclaimed success, featuring pallets of cleaning supplies, blue jeans, T-shirts, runners, and candles, candles, candles.
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Y Building Holds Fond Memories
BY Susan Gamble
EXPOSITOR STAFF / BRANTFORD
Temporary home will open in September before move to permanent facility near park.
Step across the worn threshold of the YM-YWCA gymnasium and you’re stepping into history.
In September, the transition building will open on Wellington and Clarence Streets offering bright, spacious facilities that will include everything except racquet sports and swimming.
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