The ball has started rolling on “reimagining” a well-known site in The Ward.
Efforts are underway that aim to see the former W.C. Wood plant two property – much of the block bordered by Alice, Huron, Duke and Elizabeth streets – turned into new housing, parkland, shared community space and amenities.
“The entire team is so excited to have this project move forward. Not only our team, but our family,“ said Susan Frasson, president of Wood Development Group and a member of the Wood family that owned and operated the factory for 78 years prior to its sale in 2008..
“As the family moved out of manufacturing and into development, this piece (of land) is one that is near and dear to our hearts for obvious reasons. And I hope that if we … are able to make this a legacy piece to leave in the family's name in the way of development. “
During the next year, Frasson hopes her company is able to prepare an urban design master plan for the site, in consultation with the community and with direction from city planning staff.
With that in mind, Wood Development is set to hold its first open house event for the project on June 13, followed by the launch of an online community survey on June 14.
The open house is set to run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Italian Canadian Club. Additional open houses are expected to be held in the fall.
Access to the survey will be from the developer’s website for the project.
The developer’s goal is to gather input it’ll use to set a vision for how the site will be transformed over time to include a mix of housing options, design aesthetics, accessibility, connectivity and quality of green space.
“Having thorough connections for walking downtown into the ward is key, but I don't think it's really going to have a huge impact on us,” Frasson said of the city’s announcement last week it has cancelled previously approved plans to build a pedestrian bridge connecting The Ward to downtown over the Speed River. “You can walk around and reconnect. It's not ideal, but you can do that.”
The site is identified in the Guelph Downtown Secondary Plan as a prime location for intensification.
At this point, the developer’s plan is to retain a three-storey, concrete building off Huron Street, which was built between 1916 and 1929 by Partridge Rubber Co.
“This building is identified to be retained through the transformation of the site to serve as an
historic anchor and community hub in the new development,” states a news release about the project.
Today, buildings on the site are mostly used for warehousing, as well as being an interim hub for The SEED and Food4Kids Guelph. It was previously used as a temporary space for community agencies including as a St. Joseph’s Health Centre day clinic, the annual Children’s Foundation of Guelph Wellington adopt-a-family program and the annual book sale from the Friends of Guelph Public Library.
“We would have loved to have done this sooner,” Frasson said when asked about the project’s timing. “If we're in a housing crisis, we should be maximizing the use of the land that we have for housing.”
