Rebirth of the 'company town'
Toronto Star|March 31, 2024
Former airbase centre of ambitious housing project with workers in mind
DIANA ZLOMISLIC
Rebirth of the 'company town'

The Base 31 project will be built on the former site of CFB Picton, a Second World War airbase used to train pilots.

About two hours east of Toronto, developers are building a town that will include concert venues, creative workspaces, shops, community gardens, sports courts, parks and walking trails alongside about 7,500 homes.

On the outskirts of Picton, the project, when completed, will more than double the current population of 4,700 residents. Construction workers will be among the town’s first inhabitants and developers will be the boss.

“We have become a pretty significant employer in the area,” said Alexandra DeGasperis, vice-president of DECO Communities, which has partnered with Tercot Communities, PEC Placemaking and Rockport Group on a project known as Base 31. One of the group’s first priorities is to create worker housing for the labourers who will be building the town.

“We’re really hoping that by next summer, we can have that up and running … so we’re not taking away worker housing from other employers.”

As the housing crisis has led to a worker shortage, some developers and employers are reinventing the concept of the company town, setting up living spaces — temporary and permanent — to house the local workforce. But unlike the Canadian company towns of the early 1900s that sprouted around pulp and paper mills and aluminum refineries, today’s employers are filling a need to attract and house retail, service and skilled trades workers.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 31, 2024 من Toronto Star.

اشترك في Magzter GOLD للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 31, 2024 من Toronto Star.

اشترك في Magzter GOLD للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من TORONTO STAR مشاهدة الكل
Toronto Star

Disgraceful behaviour on Parliament Hill

‘Was it you or not?’ Jagmeet Singh confronts heckler on Parliament Hill, Sept. 17

time-read
1 min  |
September 19, 2024
How to Fix our Congestion Crisis - Toronto has some of the worst congestion on the continent, Coun. Brad Bradford writes. Fixing it requires common sense and better planning and prioritization at the top.
Toronto Star

How to Fix our Congestion Crisis - Toronto has some of the worst congestion on the continent, Coun. Brad Bradford writes. Fixing it requires common sense and better planning and prioritization at the top.

Toronto has one of the world’s best film festivals but as stars like Will Ferrell pointed out, we also have some of the world’s worst traffic. He joins a long list of international celebrities, professional athletes and musicians that have echoed the concerns of thousands of residents forced to do battle with Toronto’s gridlock everyday.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 19, 2024
Rogers' Power Play- Company will have near-lock on city's pro sports with buyout of Bell's stake in MLSE
Toronto Star

Rogers' Power Play- Company will have near-lock on city's pro sports with buyout of Bell's stake in MLSE

One man is now poised to control every major men’s pro sports team in Toronto. Edward Rogers will have achieved his long-desired goal of total power over Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), if a $4.7-billion deal to snap up Bell Canada’s 37.5 per cent stake is completed, making Rogers Communications the majority owner of the Maple Leafs, Raptors, Argonauts and Toronto FC.For a decade, MLSE’s board had been split between Rogers, Bell and MLSE chair Larry Tanenbaum’s Kilmer Sports.

time-read
5 mins  |
September 19, 2024
'It Was a Recipe for this Incident' - GO riders blame construction for crowded platform where woman hit
Toronto Star

'It Was a Recipe for this Incident' - GO riders blame construction for crowded platform where woman hit

The GO Transit platform where a woman was struck by an express train on Tuesday has been partially closed for several months due to construction at the station, causing crowding during rush hour.Toronto police said the 46-year-old woman was walking near the edge of the platform at Long Branch GO Station when she was hit by an express train bypassing the station at around 8:15 a.m. She was rushed to hospital in life-threatening condition. No update on her condition was available Wednesday.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 19, 2024
Weakened Liberal Party Saved by BQ - Who would have thought Canada might be saved from an election by the only political party that seeks to break up the country?
Toronto Star

Weakened Liberal Party Saved by BQ - Who would have thought Canada might be saved from an election by the only political party that seeks to break up the country?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a chance to keep his Liberals in power thanks to Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet. On Tuesday, without engaging any of the parties in substantive negotiations, the Liberals decided to lay the future of the government on the tracks of the oncoming Conservative train. They tempted the fate not just of their own political lifespan, but also that of all the policies they say they want to accomplish: a more compassionate and responsive immigration system; action to curb greenhouse gasses; a school food program; a pharmacare program that provides free contraception and diabetes medication; better (though inadequate) disability payments; and the entrenchment of a dental care program that has seen a huge uptick of subscribers.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 19, 2024
At Least We'll All Know Who to Blame - Edward Rogers has become Toronto sports fans' one-stop target for owner-bashing
Toronto Star

At Least We'll All Know Who to Blame - Edward Rogers has become Toronto sports fans' one-stop target for owner-bashing

Sports needs characters we can root for, and characters we can blame, writes Edward Keenan. Rogers buying Bell's MLSE stake will supply more of the latter, starting with chairman Edward Rogers.For a sports fan, there’s something satisfying about that. For years with the Leafs in particular, the owner was a pension plan, and it was hard to tell if its controlling executives (never mind the teachers whose money they were spending) cared about hockey one way or the other. And whether they did or not, how could you figure out who was responsible for what they did as a result?

time-read
3 mins  |
September 19, 2024
Lebanon is Rocked Again by Deadly Exploding Devices - Israel acknowledges 'new phase in war'; civilians among dead
Toronto Star

Lebanon is Rocked Again by Deadly Exploding Devices - Israel acknowledges 'new phase in war'; civilians among dead

Walkie-talkies and solar equipment exploded in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon on Wednesday in an apparent second wave of attacks targeting devices a day after pagers used by Hezbollah blew up, state media and officials for the militant group said. At least 20 people were killed and more than 450 wounded in the second wave, the Health Ministry said.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 19, 2024
Feds Impose New Limits on International Students - Immigration Minister Marc Miller has announced new limits on international students Wednesday, saying Canada is facing an untenable number of people wishing to come here.
Toronto Star

Feds Impose New Limits on International Students - Immigration Minister Marc Miller has announced new limits on international students Wednesday, saying Canada is facing an untenable number of people wishing to come here.

Enrolment cuts, work permit restrictions will further slow population growth. Immigration Minister Marc Miller has announced new limits on international students Wednesday, saying Canada is facing an untenable number of people wishing to come here.Canada will reduce the annual cap on study permits by another 10 per cent in 2025 and restrict eligibility for international graduates' work permits to better meet labour market needs, amid continuing public pressure to tame runaway population growth.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 19, 2024
Bloc Will Vote to Prop up Liberals - Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, said he does not have confidence in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority government, but believes he can use the situation to push for his party's priorities.
Toronto Star

Bloc Will Vote to Prop up Liberals - Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, said he does not have confidence in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority government, but believes he can use the situation to push for his party's priorities.

Leader says he will oppose Tory motion to bring down Trudeau government. Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, said he does not have confidence in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority government, but believes he can use the situation to push for his party's priorities.

time-read
5 mins  |
September 19, 2024
Dutcher wins second Polaris award
Toronto Star

Dutcher wins second Polaris award

Singer donating prize to school in New Brunswick

time-read
3 mins  |
September 19, 2024