Join cruise group to Alaska; raise money for cancer society

Woodstock's Expedia cruiseshipcenters office has created a group trip to Alaska

Portion of each cabin booked to be donated to CCS

By Mark Schadenberg

WOODSTOCK -- A vacation is a great way to go on an adventure of a lifetime, but it can also be an opportunity to enjoy time with friends, perhaps see the gold-rush heritage, ice-capped mountains, and the natural beauty of the north.

Planning a trip can also take a lot of time and energy.

A solution could be to take a vacation cruise with friends to Alaska, and now you can even make a contribution to the Canadian Cancer Society at the same time.

The Woodstock office of Expedia CruiseShipCenters has booked 90 cabins aboard a Holland America Line cruise ship (The Oosterdam) for Aug. 17, 2014 – for a seven-night cruise to Alaska.

A portion of the proceeds from each booking in the group tour will be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) and the Expedia office at 442A Dundas Street has set a target of $20,000 to raise for the charity.

Franchise partner Bill Shaw explained the fundraising idea began with a suggestion from travel consultant Elizabeth Ross, and evolved into the name Lean On Me Project.

“This is one way to recognize and support people going through their fight with cancer,” says Shaw. “We wanted to contribute to the local (CCS) because we also know the costs they have to run their programs, and we know the number of volunteer hours also involved in this organization.”

Shaw describes an Alaska cruise as one of the most returned-to destinations in the world. In other words, vacationers usually take a second cruise after enjoying their initial scenic visit up the west coast of Canada. The cruise will depart from Vancouver and has three price points depending on size and view of the room selected.

“The cruise offers an impeccable scenery, amazing wildlife, whale watching and glaciers,” added Shaw.

The one-year lead time is important as Bill Shaw notes many couples plan vacations with significant advance time.

Ketchikan, Skagway, Juneau and Anchorage are among the docking points. A second option for this vacation is to continue on a further four-day inland railway journey to Denali National Park, Fairbanks and Mt McKinley.

For additional details and breakdowns on the pricing, contact Expedia cruiseshipcenters at (519) 537-8333 or visit them in Downtown Woodstock.      

A long-time volunteer for the Canadian Cancer Society 

and its Relay For Life programs

Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative

Royal LePage Triland Realty

757 Dundas St, Woodstock

www.wesellwoodstock.com

(519) 537-1553, cell or text

Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com

Twitter: markroyallepage

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Stop at an OnRoute for your stay-cation ideas

Summer Fun Guide promotes Ontario vacations

By Mark Schadenberg

Advertising can often provide the opportunity to gear your marketing to your exact audience.

If you’re in the tourism business, is there a better place to advertise than a magazine promoting various Ontario destinations?

The Summer Fun Guide is available now at the OnRoute service centres along the 401, including the gas depot just a few kilometres west of Woodstock.

There are now three reasons, therefore, to stop into the local OnRoute – New York Fries, the gravy at New York Fries, and if you’re still planning a stay-cation during our current warm months, the Summer Fun Guide.

Info-tainment

The catalogue has 88 pages of info, but most importantly a ton of coupons and an events schedule that highlights many happenings. In our area, the Baden Corn Fest (Aug. 10) and Ruthven Apple Festival (Sept 28) are noted, while Cowapolooza in Woodstock (Aug 16-17), the Embro Highland Games (held July 1) and the recently-completed Canterbury Folk Festival in Ingersoll were omitted.

It is not possible to include all events and attractions, but organizers of any type of tourism activity should note that the Summer Fun Guide (www.summerfunguide.ca) is a terrific vehicle to advertise in based on the number of vehicles stopping at OnRoute. The event listings are free, but the additional ads cost money. Hint . . . hint . . . hint Tourism Oxford.

Several sections

The book is divided into seven geographic areas and each section is sub-divided into topics such as accommodation, activities and attractions.

Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative

Royal LePage Triland Realty

757 Dundas St, Woodstock

www.wesellwoodstock.com

(519) 537-1553, cell or text

Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com

Twitter: markroyallepage

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More regulations pending for condominium managers

Ontario legislature considering bill

By Mark Schadenberg

Once again, it appears the provincial government is modifying an old law, to make sure everything is working well within a 20-mile radius of Queen’s Park.

The new or proposed changes to the Ontario condominium act are all good ideas, but reflect mostly issues surrounding high-rise condo projects in the Greater Toronto Area – the GTA.

Quite honestly, it’s hard to believe there has not been stricter rules in place already for property managers and their qualifications. Could you imagine a real estate office, where just the broker had passed a zillion courses, but the sales staff could walk in with a resume and a firm hand shake, and then be given a desk and a phone.

Stats in the below story are based on province-wide numbers, but obviously in the GTA they are building up and not as many detached homes in suburb subdivisions. In fact, old buildings are getting retro-fitted all the time into condo apartments.

Approximately one million residents in the province of the Trillium, reside in some form of a condo.

In Woodstock, there are just two condo apartment projects you can buy and both are well over 15 years old – Ferguson Drive (159 and 161) and the walk-up condo apartments on Hiawatha.

Old Shell Game

The ‘act’ loop hole I would like to see erased is where an ‘investor’ can buy a condo that doesn’t exist because a developer wants a large nest egg to begin construction. Then, before any occupants actually move in, several of the units are re-sold for a profit. In theory, you could have a part-time job flipping condo units, and I’m sure many folks do. The risk would be that the condo you purchased three years ago has decreased in value. It’s not buying bricks and mortar, but rather stocks and bonds.  

THE TORONTO STAR LINK:
http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2013/07/17/changes_to_condo_act_will_offer_greater_protection_for_residents_liberals_say.html

Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative

Royal LePage Triland Realty

757 Dundas St, Woodstock

www.wesellwoodstock.com

(519) 537-1553, cell or text

Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com

Twitter: markroyallepage

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Chip Martin throws curveball at Cooperstown

Book backs Beachville's claim to founding baseball

Since .300 is considered a good batting average, my 300th blog post will be about baseball.

Baseball's Creation Myth full of research and facts

By Mark Schadenberg

The year was 1838 – 175 years ago.

The game of baseball was invented.

The early version of the sport had four bases.

The early version of the game was invented in Beachville – not in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Well-regarded London Free Press columnist Chip Mart has now penned a book which features even more proof and connections to the birth of baseball in Beachville, and the original writings of the sport in its infancy by a Dr Adam Ford.

Baseball’s Creation Myth (published by: McFarland) is the title and it will be a must-read for anyone who has followed the annals of baseball locally and knows the importance of names like Tip O’Neill and Lefty Judd.

Cooperstown in upper New York State features a terrific ball diamond and nostalgia galore in its practically adjoining museum.

The Beachville museum (www.beachvilledistrictmuseum.ca) also has a display to recognize that community’s importance to the sport. If you have never seen the depictions, you must.

The new book may shatter the thoughts of those in the grand olde USA.

“I believe it might be quite controversial especially south of the border because it illustrates that the roots of Americana are actually on this side of the border,” says Martin in a story printed in the Toronto Sun (see link).

Locally, the Beachville bit of history has been well recognized for years, but the Martin novel as you turn the pages sews some links between Abner Doubleday and the first double plays turned in Oxford County.

Martin was inspired to conduct his research after watching the Ken Burns documentary min-series about baseball, which has aired previously by PBS.

Time has tried to tell us that Cooperstown is baseball’s home.

Time will now also tell us in the future if Beachville will get the credit it deserves.

THE LINK:

http://www.torontosun.com/2013/07/16/book-throws-a-curveball-at-baseballs-origin  

Oxford County has a great history and is a great place to live. 

Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative

Royal LePage Triland Realty

757 Dundas St, Woodstock

www.wesellwoodstock.com

(519) 537-1553, cell or text

www.markroyallepage.blogspot.com

Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com

Twitter: markroyallepage

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Ball diamond complex inches closer to reality

Woodstock to spend smart dollars on Woodall park in 2013

By Mark Schadenberg

I need not need to say where I sit on the issue of the Woodall Woods Farm becoming a recreation complex for the City of Woodstock.

As chair for the past three years of the Woodstock Recreation Advisory Committee, we have analyzed the need for additional ball diamonds in Woodstock from 90 degrees – looking at all the angles from first to second to third and back home again. The need not only exists the building of a dedicated ball facility is extremely long overdue.

On four occasions I have spoken about this supply and demand need at city council.

Keep in mind, when prices like $24 million are tossed around, that tag includes more than roads, parking lots, a concession stand with three bathrooms, plus naturally five ball diamonds with lights, but the dollar figure also includes additional projects that may occur in future phases.

I have always pushed for a free splash pad for kids -- not with a wading pool requiring lifeguards, but a water feature patrolled by parents with an abundance of spouts, small dumping buckets, water tunnels, and large sprinklers.

Other amenities down the line could include a long shopping list: outdoor pool, arena(s), curling club, library, gymnasium, outdoor basketball court, tennis, and a youth centre.

The Southwood arenas twin-pad complex opened up 17 years ago – 1996 and included a gymnasium dedicated solely to gymnastics. All these years later, it continues to be a very viable municipal facility. Within one year it will be fully paid for (debenture).

As the story below from The Sentinel-Review notes, many studies must be conducted before any baseball backstops or home run fences can be installed. Hats off (ball caps too) to city councillor Paul Plant for putting forward the motion to get the (base) ball rolling on these important hurdles to be crossed.

Approved is an expenditure of $120,000 for this year’s budget. The City has monies in reserves for such projects and some of it should be spent. The microscope would be utilized in the autumn of 2013 on items like topography, archaeology and environmental.

Remember, Woodstock is one of very few cities that carries practically zero debt. In Stratford, each citizen would have to pencil a cheque for about $10,000 to balance the long-term books. Another reason not to complain about our municipal tax levels as we are not paying off years of interest we are operating facilities and integral services.

Plant talks about this complex to be shovel-ready in case higher levels of government introduce funding options to communities with 2017 to be a 150 party for Canada. My stand / platform – if this was an election campaign – is that the ball diamonds should be built before 2017 and that any grants could be applied to the next phases.

THE LATEST LINK:

http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/2013/07/12/council-pushes-up-rec-complex-studies

 Updating you on our community

Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative

Royal LePage Triland Realty

757 Dundas St, Woodstock

www.wesellwoodstock.com             (519) 537-1553, cell or text

www.markroyallepage.blogspot.com

Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com

Twitter: markroyallepage

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Woodstock will not make changes to 2014 voting system

Voting on how a municipality votes
A proposal suggesting changing to a modified electronic voting procedure in Woodstock was voted down by city council at its meeting on July 11.
The city clerk's department had prepared a report for council's consideration, which suggested significantly changing the municipal election system slated for the fall of 2014.
Current city council member Bill Bes was against the idea, saying in council chambers and recorded by The Sentinel-Review for its published story: "“I would prefer to stick with [paper ballots] and consider [electronic voting] for 2018.”
Many of the councillors liked the idea of electronic voting but didn’t think that the community was ready to make the switch from the traditional method.
In 2010, 150 of the 444 municipalities used some type of alternative vote casting system. One hundred and six municipalities used mail-in voting, 30 municipalities used Internet and or telephone voting and 14 used electronic voting in advanced polls and paper ballets on election day . . . 
Internet voting was estimated to cost $80,000 and would require a physical polling location with laptops and tablets to accommodate those without Internet access or who require assistance . . . 
The full version of The Sentinel-Review story penned by Codi Wilson can be read at the link below.
Since we voted just once every three years to decide who represents us around the horseshoe at 500 Dundas, I believe we can make an effort to attend a local school gym with our picture identification to prove who we are, to take part in our city's election.
I don 't like advance polls for people who can actually vote on election day. I disagree with mailing in a vote, emailing or filling out a questionnaire on a website. I'm not olde-fashioned or unpractical, I'm realistic -- real people voting in a real election.

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http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/2013/07/12/woodstock-city-council-sticks-to-paper-ballots-in-next-election

Woodstock city council to consider change in voting procedures

Pondering possible plebiscite to deal with possible voting system change

By Mark Schadenberg

Has modern technology gone too far?

There is a possibility that the next Woodstock municipal election could include voting via internet, telephone or email.

I never liked the idea of voting at an advance poll unless you could actually prove you were going to be away during the actual election date. I certainly also disagree with a system that permits someone to send through the mail their votes sometimes two or three weeks before the ‘real’ ballot day.

In both cases, I believe there is a possibility a major shift could occur in who are the best people for the post. Perhaps one topic or controversy in particular moves to the forefront and you decide that your preference is now a different candidate, but you’ve already submitted your panel of picks.

In Woodstock, we elect one mayor, two city-and-county combined councillors, and three city-only council members. An issue from the overall Oxford County viewpoint could erupt two days before ballot suffrage day, and you would be unable to change your selection – nullify your previous position.

There are always many topics of debate – taxes, waste and water management, residential development, municipal facilities, parks and recreation, transportation, roads and buses, zonings, and possible modifications to the so-called ‘official plan’.

I think the solution is simple. More polling stations (not fewer) and the encouragement to create a system where someone places an ‘x’ in the boxes of a ballot in person – in a neighbourhood school gym or community centre.

My ideas are not exactly related to a proposal current city council members may consider, but what is the point of having personal identification with pictures, if I can dial a 10-digit number and press another series of numbers to pick my politicians?

A Woodstock city hall employee – deputy city clerk Amy Humphries -- has penned a report with many suggestions for possible modifications to ponder by council to an overhaul of the local voting system for 2014.

Should we organize a local plebiscite with old fashioned ballot boxes to determine whether the ballot box era is over?

Here’s a link to The Woodstock Sentinel-Review story.

    

http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/2013/07/09/new-voting-options-presented-to-woodstock-city-council-for-2014-election

Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative

Royal LePage Triland Realty

757 Dundas St, Woodstock

www.wesellwoodstock.com

(519) 537-1553, cell or text

Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com

Twitter: markroyallepage

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Valuable visit to Woodstock Art Gallery, . . .

. . . So why don't they charge some sort of admission

By Mark Schadenberg

I have always thought if something had value, it should have a cost.

Sometimes a junior hockey club will host a free admission night to promote game attendance, but usually a sponsor will be attached to such an event.

A walk down trails should be free and, of course, is at no charge.

How about a visit to a museum or art gallery?

Both Woodstock (www.city.woodstock.on.ca) attractions – and they are attractions – are free. I wonder why.

I have studied at the museum Downtown several times and I’ve twice taken my children to the Watt’s Up exhibit this year, which is an educational and hands-on promotional display depicting how power is created; some history, some innovation and a sum of the parts – hydro-electric dams, solar, nuclear, windmills and even how someone can create energy by riding a bicycle (turbine).

I enjoy attending the Woodstock Art Gallery (WAG at 449 Dundas St. or online at www.woodstockartgallery.ca) and walked through a current display with my children about two weeks ago.

The WAG mission statement is: “To provide a centre that is open to all for the enrichment, enjoyment and participation in the arts.”

Sounds great, but should there not be even a small nominal entrance fee? Perhaps even $2 and $1 for children 12-and-under.

The on-going exhibit of Florence Carlyle (1864-1923) is a must-viewing for all.   

One of the just-ended exhibits focused on abstract painting and included side-by-side productions of the local mother-daughter duo of Betty McArthur and Jaquie Poole (pictured).

Ojibway Sculptor

The current focus is on the ‘Toil: Michael Belmore’ exhibit, until Aug. 3. Belmore is an Ontario artist/sculptor, who resides in Haliburton, and is a member of the Ojibway nation, growing up near Thunder Bay. According to the Haliburton County website, his works have appeared at the Smithsonian in New York, the McMichael collection, and galleries in Ottawa, Oshawa and Sudbury.

“Many artists make money by selling art that can be almost mass produced, such as pottery,” says Mary Anne Barkhouse, who is a partner of Michael Belmore. “This system works well for a lot of people. However, Michael and I have taken another route. We create pieces of work that are much harder to commodify. The construction processes and media we use aren’t new. Some of them, like hammering bronze, are actually thousands of years old. However, we try to do different things with them. A lot of our sculptures are outdoor installations, which means that they tend to be quite large. Furthermore, while our art may be animals, plants, or even depictions of harbours, they also have a strong conceptual elements and impacts.”

Later In The Summer

The late summer show (Aug. 10 – Oct. 5) appears to be a touring collection from the K-W art gallery and is entitled Jane Buyers: Gather . . . Arrange . . . Maintain. The opening afternoon is Saturday, Aug. 10, 2-4 p.m. with refreshments, etc.

The 55^th annual juried art show / competition is slated for Oct. 12 and will continue into December.

I enjoyed the abstract works as they appeared in the second floor air conditioned (the gallery truly has a strict control on its air movement, temperature, humidity and even light) closed-doors studio room.

Poole of talent

I grew up with Jaquie Poole’s three children and fully realize there is immense talent, along with supreme dedication to a craft to create any work at this level. The Poole family is also well known in Woodstock in political circles as Jaquie's late husband Phil was on city council for more than 20 years.

Back at the gallery, and considering this obvious value, there should be an admission charge.

While at the WAG in late June, I scribbled down the following posted quote by Jaquie Poole: “My paintings can be described as mental landscapes. They are not actual locations of where I have been, but my experiences of these places. I begin with colours and the forms emerge.”

Mark Schadenberg

(519) 537-1553, cell or text

Twitter: markroyallepage

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New listing to consider for under $200,000

You can buy 3-bedroom 2-storey on Canrobert

By Mark Schadenberg

It’s almost like you have been sitting on the beach of a deserted island and waiting . . . waiting for a ship. 

I know, it’s not a great comparison or analogy, but if you have a young family and would like to purchase a terrific home for under $200,000, your search may be a long one.

You likely don’t want to live on a main thoroughfare and I’m sure you will want to reside near a park.

Well, the ideal opportunity for a young family has just been listed -- very clean and with a move-right-in decor. Your 3-bedroom 2-storey home with 6 appliances (fridge, stove, microwave, dishwasher, washer and dryer) and it's available now for possession before August 1.

Another benefit: The current owner is replacing the roof shingles this month.

So, there’s a brand new roof (installed July 16), maintenance-free exterior, a water softener, high efficiency furnace and central air, and six appliances.  

Discover the bright eat-in kitchen and spacious living room -- both with newer flooring. Patio doors off the living room to the wood deck with a gazebo. Fenced yard. Storage shed too!

There is an unfinished basement, but lots of room to design your recroom.

This 2-storey brick home is a terrific choice for a first-time buyer as it also features: concrete foundation, fully fenced yard for Rover, double paved driveway, auto garage door opener, and interlocking brick walkway. 

35 Canrobert, Woodstock

MLS: 71804

Asking: $197,900

Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative

Royal LePage Triland Realty

757 Dundas St, Woodstock

www.wesellwoodstock.com

(519) 537-1553, cell or text

www.markroyallepage.blogspot.com

Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com

Twitter: markroyallepage

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WIDREB sales volume increases over 2012

Real estate sales totals are relative

By Mark Schadenberg

In real estate sales, everything is relative.

I’m not referring to someone buying their Mom’s house, but rather the idea that an increase in total sales (actual market activity) for our Woodstock Ingersoll District Real Estate Board (WIDREB also includes Embro, Innerkip, Norwich, Burgessville, Salford, Beachville, and all points in-between) to out-pace 2012, 2011 and 2010 is great to see, but June of 2013 actually saw 62 fewer sales than June of 2005.

Here are some frank numbers (and yes I did have an Uncle Frank).

It’s been said often that 2005 was a remarkable economical year locally and that’s the understatement of this or any year.

The 120 sales for June in WIDREB can be described as average as totals range in the past decade from 106 to 182 for the sixth month of the year.

With the calendar half over, WIDREB’s total is 645 and that too is average or if you prefer a median number as the past 10 years range from 502 in weak 2009 to 829 in 2005.

Here are year-by-year totals, first noting June and then the six-month compilation.

2013: 120, 645

2012: 112, 558

2011: 112, 614

2010: 106, 698

2009: 139, 502

2008: 117, 633

2007: 166, 718

2006: 135, 674

2005: 182, 829

2004: 130, 706

Below, is a story about the Waterloo Region sales totals.

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Kitchener-Waterloo sales strong; Cambridge stats on record pace

House sales remain strong in Waterloo Region

Waterloo Region Record

By Waterloo Region Record staff

WATERLOO – The resale housing market in Waterloo Region is in good shape as it enters the second half of the year.

Agents with the Kitchener-Waterloo Association of Realtors recorded 648 residential sales in June, up 6.8 per cent from the 608 properties that changed hands in the same month a year ago.

Sales dipped in Cambridge last month – they fell to 305 from 321 in June 2012 – but the Cambridge Association of Realtors is still on pace for a record year.

It recorded 1,686 sales through the first six months of 2013, the highest total ever for the first half of the year.

"Housing demand in the region remains very strong," Stan Adams, the association's president, said in a news release.

The Kitchener-Waterloo association recorded 3,511 sales to the end of June, up 1.4 per cent from the same period a year ago and 2.2 per cent higher than the five-year average for the first six months of the year.

"We're seeing a slow and steady upward trend in sales, which is exactly what we like to see – stable and steady growth," said Dietmar Sommerfeld, the association's president.

Last month's sales in Kitchener and Waterloo included 422 single-detached homes (up 9.9 per cent from a year ago), 122 condo units (down 7.6 per cent), 58 semi-detached homes (up 9.4 per cent) and 35 townhouses (up 6.1 per cent).

The average sale price in Kitchener and Waterloo rose 4.6 per cent to $326,561 in June compared to a year earlier. The average price in Cambridge increased four per cent to $305,883.

Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative

Royal LePage Triland Realty

757 Dundas St, Woodstock

www.wesellwoodstock.com

(519) 537-1553, cell or text

www.markroyallepage.blogspot.com

Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com

Twitter: markroyallepage

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Horst Meder donates 16 paintings to hospital

Talented artist shares his canvas with community

By Mark Schadenberg

It takes a considerable amount of patience and talent to paint nature and wildlife.

There is an abundance of talent among the healthcare specialists at the Woodstock Hospital – on Juliana Drive since November of 2011 – as they see a lot of patients.

An accomplished Woodstock artist recently donated several paintings to the hospital, so his talent could also be shared with hospital patients and visitors.

Horst Meder, who I’ve known through my parents as long as I can remember, is an award-winning painter, who concentrates mostly on scenic works, which often includes birds or other wildlife in their natural habitat.

I read in the latest Woodstock Hospital newsletter (Summer 2013) that Meder donated 16 original works to now be displayed in hospital hallways and waiting rooms.

“When I go anywhere, I can see a finished painting in my mind and I then can go and execute the scene on canvas,” said Meder in the newsletter story, which included a photo of the painter in front of a picture capturing Canada Geese.

The hospital accepts donated art for many reasons – more than just a way to adorn the blank white walls of a corridor.

“There is more and more evidence to show that caring for the whole person, both the physical and psychological aspects of healing, leads to a faster recovery,” said Kathy Deweerd, hospital foundation gift coordinator.

A story in the Woodstock Sentinel-Review noted that Meder immigrated to Canada from Germany in 1958, but didn’t really pick up the painting hobby until about 20 years later.

“The framing is costly, the material is costly,” said Meder to the Woodstock newspaper. “It’s quite an expense but I’ve made a lot of donations to a lot of charities before and I’ve got pictures all over the world.”

As the Woodstock Art Gallery has often promoted, you can rent works by many Oxford artists from the gallery on Dundas Street, including at least one Meder production.

Just as a doctor must study and practise for years to develop their craft, any artist must also spend countless hours of meticulous motion and creativity to hone their skills.

“I am happy to share my paintings with the residents of Oxford County,” Meder added in a quote lifted from the hospital brochure. “Looking at artwork is a wonderful way to pass the time while in the hospital.”

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Woodstock Sentinel-Review story

LINK
http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/2013/06/28/woodstock-artist-donates-16-wildlife-paintings-to-woodstock-hospital  

   

Mark Schadenberg

Sales Representative

Royal LePage Triland Realty

(519) 537-1553, cell or text

Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com

Deadline to submit purchase proposal is Aug 15

CBRE is promoting old hospital site for development

By Mark Schadenberg

The site of the former Woodstock General Hospital on Riddell Street is on the market and is listed by CBRE.

It’s been discussed in this space previously, but the plan is to sell the land to one or more residential builders and for the acreage to be developed into both low and medium density homes. This translates into nothing higher than likely a 3-storey structure, but more likely a mix of townhouses and detached homes.

Always always always keep in mind that site plan and subdivision proposals must eventually (later) also get the blessing of the good folks on city council.

If you stare long enough at the listing posted by www.cbre.ca (historically called CB Richard Ellis), you will note that the parcels are on both sides of Riddell Street in the blocks surrounded by Brant and Vincent streets.

Land is two parcels

As this process has been in the works since before the aging healthcare facility closed its doors in November of 2011, both the city and county councils have rezoned the property (about 8.4 acres; 6.4 acres on hospital site and 1.97 acres across street in previous staff parking area) from community facility to low/medium density use. However, a nursing home, private school or even a church could qualify under this designation.

It will be interesting to watch this process continue in its evolution as the time needed to tear down the olde buildings has only been a small fraction of the ‘new look’ planned. Parts of the former hospital dated back to the 1800s and the demolition (contract was awarded to Priestly Inc by the Board Of Trust) has included salvaging or recycling as much as possible.  

The actual selling of this vacant land with the assistance of CBRE (with the offers considered by the hospital board of trust) will be by a modified tender submission with the deadline of August 15.

The CBRE contact is broker Kevin MacDougall at (519) 673-6444.

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A Woodstock Hospital background press release

LINK:

http://www.wgh.on.ca/wgh/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=557&Itemid=327

Woodstock Sentinel-Review story

LINK:

http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/2013/07/03/woodstock-general-hospital-property-officially-on-the-market

Mark Schadenberg

Sales Representative

Royal LePage Triland Realty

757 Dundas St, Woodstock

(519) 537-1553, cell or text

Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com

Twitter: markroyallepage

Discussion . . . Direction . . . Determination . . . Destination