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Many pr oposals just faded away Continued from page Whether the developers were unsuccess- ful in pre-selling enough units or arranging adequate financing, the project was scuttled and the land sat vacant for years before being purchased by Loblaws. Subsequently, Loblaws constructed the present Independent Grocery store, which opened in November 1996. Smaller projects completed along the way included the construction of a new building on Casimir in 1988 by Drs. Helen Peel and Reva Bathie for their chiropractic offices, and anew home for The Port Perry Star on Mary St, which opened in January 1991. That was also the same year council ap- proved construction for a 38-unit apartment building for senior citizens on land behind the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. There were more than a few proposals for Many projects never saw the light of day due to what one developer referred to as ‘bureaucratic cholesterol.” senior’s homes and retirement facilities dur- ing the early 1990s, many of which were un- successful in getting approvals. In September 1992, more than 50 Port Perry residents attended a public meeting to protest the development of a retirement home at the corner of Queen and Ottawa Streets. Two months later more than 25 people from the Balsam Street area attended a public meet- ing to oppose a proposed 40-unit housing de- velopment slated for the southwest corner of Balsam and Old Simcoe Road. In March 1993 our town fathers were pre- sented plans for a 60-unit seniors retirement development for the east end of Casimir Street. Once again, this plan never material- ized, although it did get a re-birth in the form of Westshore Village a few years later. Still in 1993, a major development on the former Brook’s Farm in north Port Perry, got the green light and Canterbury Commons turned its first piece of sod to mark construc- tion of the new 248 home adult lifestyle com- munity in April of the following year. Further to the east, a development proposal by Bill and Paula Lishman near Nestleton, in October 1995, yan into immediate trouble. Following who opposed the establishment of an aero- drome on the property, the Lishman’s halted their plans due to soaring costs and what they described as “bureaucratic cholesterol.” Another project that got stalled during the 1990s was the construction of a much needed new municipal office to accommodate the needs of the Township of Scugog. website: www.focusonscugog.com FOCUS. JAN.07.92pqsindd 19 In March 1999 the council of the day decid- ed against purchasing the Old Port Marketing building on Durham Rd. #8 for a new munici- pal office, stating the $2.5 million cost to buy and renovate the building was just too much. Four years later, a new municipal office was constructed just north of the old building on Perry St., on property already owned by the township. Ironically, by the time it was com- pleted, the cost for the new building was al- most double that of the Old Port building and renovations. There have been countless other develop- ments over this time period including con- struction of a new arena in 1976. This was followed by the addition of the new 10,000 sq. ft. Scugog Centre Community Hall in 1995 and the second ice pad on the arena in 2003. Port Perry has also seen hundreds of new sub-division homes pop up at both ends of town, and expansion of the township’s indus- trial lands and a number of other smaller com- mercial plazas and ventures. This brings us back to the west-end devel- opment, which is about to get underway. And this is also where “what if” comes into play once again. After Peel's Poultry Farm closed its hatch- ery on the south side of 7A highway in the 1960s, the property was purchased by a com- pany known as Zoecon, to package pesticides. The property next fell into the hands of a group of Port Perry residents who initially rented the building to a local family who want- ed to open a flea market in the building. The flea market proposal, like so many oth- ers ran into opposition, this time by the local business community who fought the start-up of this type of business. The flea-market did eventually open and operated for a few years before closing. The property was then purchased by Quo- rum Developments who eventually received the necessary approvals for construction of a large grocery store. They were also in negotia- tions with Canadian Tire to build a new store adjacent to the grocery store, when a new pro- posal put a halt to plans for this property. The new proposal brought before council, by Stockworth MBG, was for a new 40,000 sq. ft. Canadian Tire store, along with a food re- tailer, franchise restaurant, a bank and a drug store on industrial property south of Port Per- ry. This property required re-zoning, which delayed construction, but in time a downsized agreement provided the green light for only a new CTC store south of town. So, as we mentioned at the start of this sto- ry, there i is a question that begs to be asked. .. Canadian Tire and a large new gro- cery store had been built west of town on the south side of 7A back in the early 2000s. Would we still be looking at a super-sized WalMart setting up shop at that end of town today, or would we have still have a golf driving range? I guess we'll never know... but it’s always in- teresting to look back and speculate at what might have been. by J. Peter Hvidsten Focus on Scugog What if... What if - our historic landmark, Town Hall 1873, had been tom down in 1974 instead of being saved and renovated... What if - the library had been expanded on its Queen St. site instead of being relocated to Water St. What if - our unique Port Perry post office had been demolished in 1973, in favour of a new one storey structure (above)... What if - the Canadian Penitentiary Services offer to build a Regional Reception Centre (that a ‘penitentiary’ in the township in 1975 had not been tumed down... What if - Your Independent Store had been built anywhere but on the lakefront... What if - the old Creamery building, (above) on Water St., had been renovated instead of being tom down and replaced by a large, new condominium building... What if - the old grain elevator at the foot of Queen St. gets torn down instead of being restored and becoming the waterfront's land- mark building... What if - the Port Perry Fairgrounds had been sold in 1987 for a housing development and the fairgrounds moved to land north of the Scugog arena... FOCUS - JANUARY 2008 19 1007 soer0M |