Chew's News

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes 

Hamilton’s long history of industry properties it's waterfront and into the downtown area has left the city with an excess of properties and parcels of land with brownfield designation. The bayfront industrial area in particular, whose growth and success centred on the excellent rail and port access, is home to approximately 3400 acres of brownfield land. Hamilton’s original brownfield community improvement plan was adopted in 2001 and has continued to expand over the past 15 years as the city incorporates new development plans.

Redevelopment of Hamilton’s brownfield sites is critical, industrial vacancy rates sit low at about 2.4% and in order for the city to accommodate new industry and development, transforming and cleaning up this land is the best option.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Community Improvement Plans (CIP) provide a variety of financial incentive programs to encourage redevelopment in key areas. As part of an ongoing series, I will be assessing the CIPs of specific areas within the Greater Horseshoe. Today, I will be focusing on brownfield sites in Fort Erie.

After conducting a critical needs analysis in 2009, the Town of Fort Erie chose to adopt the Fort Erie Brownfield Strategy program. This community improvement plan outlines five incentive programs to encourage the rehabilitation of Fort Erie's two dozen brownfield sites.

The goal of introducing the plan is to promote the rehabilitation and redevelopment of the Town's brownfield sites into land development opportunities for residential developments and employment uses. 

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Community Improvement Plans (CIP) provide a variety of financial incentive programs to encourage redevelopment in key areas. As part of an ongoing series, I will be assessing the CIPs of specific areas within the Greater Horseshoe. Today, I will be focusing on Brownfield sites in Port Colborne.

The City of Port Colborne, in recent years, has taken on a variety of incentive programs in order to promote economic growth and invement within the city. With heavy focus on the manufacturing and logisitcs sectors, the City offers: Brownfield CIPs, an Industrial CIPs and the Niagara Gateway Economic Zone and Centre CIPs. 

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes 

In late 2011, the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) implemented changes to the guidelines for completing a Phase I environmental site assessment (ESA). These changes affected the requirements and conditions of various components of conducting an ESA including the term of validity of an ESA. Property owners need to be aware of these new conditions when looking to sell their industrial or commercial land. This blog highlights the important changes that you need to be aware of.

Note: the changes only apply to ESA’s that are being submitted as part of a record of site condition (RSC).

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

 Brownfield site in the City of Welland

Community Improvement Plans (CIP) provide a variety of financial incentive programs to encourage redevelopment in key areas. As part of an ongoing series, I will be assessing the CIPs of specific areas within the Greater Horseshoe. The focus of CIPs in the City of Welland is the development and redevelopment of Brownfields. The City of Welland has a strong industrial background and recognizes the importance of marketing Brownfield redevelopment opportunities in the city, improving the image of Welland as a place to invest and do business.