Tuesday, 19 August 2014

The Legion is important to all locales from coast-to-coast

One location is London has been posted as 'for sale'
The Legion continues to sponsor minor sports, especially track and field
By Mark Schadenberg
The Woodstock Legion Athletic Club (WLAC) continues to send youth track and field athletes to provincial and national-level meets.
The WLAC (www.wlac.ca) was founded by a group of dedicated track and field coaches and volunteers in Woodstock – most notably David Bond and Mike Robinson -- and is sponsored by the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 55.
David Bond died of cancer a few years ago and has been inducted in the Woodstock sports wall of fame, along with his daughter Catherine Bond-Mills (Pictured below).
David Bond was a competitive track athlete himself growing up and then into his time at Acadia University in Nova Scotia. Bond would be an educator in Oxford and spent a portion of his career at College Avenue Secondary School, which is now home to the WLAC club's track (Terry Fox Memorial track) and storage facilities.
Although I'm sure others would have been involved, the person I best remember as the Legion contact for anything involved with the WLAC was Dave McBurney.
The sponsorship key to the WLAC would be the Legion. The Legion, by the way, nationally assists as many as 500 youth track and field teams from coast-to-coast.
In Woodstock, the two annual minor hockey Silver Stick qualifier tournaments were also developed by the Legion and continue to carry their name. As a side note, the Junior C hockey club is the Navy Vets thanks to the on-going support of the Oxford County Naval Veterans Association.
However, as our population ages and veterans pass away, it seems the concept of the Legion in many communities is waning. I know there is a Legion in Ingersoll (Branch 119), Tillsonburg (153), Beachville (495), Embro (318), Norwich (190), Tavistock (518), Thamesford (557), and elsewhere in and around Oxford, including nearby Delhi.
With word out last week that a Legion building in London is for sale, and with this also being the 70th anniversary of D-Day in the Second World War, it seems particularly sad that some of the Legion groups appear to be struggling.
The Duchess of Kent Legion was built in 1934 and is located on Hill Street in London. The building has a 'for sale' sign. Membership there blames two factors for this apparent demise – a lack of new membership and the fact that approximately $60,000 was stolen by a previous employee.
“We can’t afford to keep this building operating with the membership we have,” president Bob Marshall said, in a London Free Press story (link below) “Our membership is up there in age, people have moved, transferred to other branches.”
Back in Woodstock, I visit the Legion on a regular basis as its the location for our Lions Club of Woodstock meetings.
Whether it be for a weekly bingo (see Woodstock poster), weddings and anniversaries, birthday parties or a retirement, each and every Legion is also a local community gathering space.
The Legion will continue – I'm sure – certain it will evolve though and maybe some centres which have 5 or 6 Legion halls will re-focus 1 or 2 and use those dollars to renovate, refurbish and renew the other locations.
Here, There & Everywhere
Catherine Bond-Mills competed in the Olympics for Canada (Barcelona in 1992 and Atlanta in 1996) and won bronze at the Commonwealth Games in 1994. Her event was actually 7 events over 2 days – the heptathlon. She was the Canadian Inter-university female athlete of the year in 1990 and was named to the University of Toronto Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002.

LINKS:
http://www.lfpress.com/2014/08/12/declining-membership-and-a-60000-theft-threaten-to-close-the-duchess-of-kent-branch
http://www.lfpress.com/2014/08/12/many-young-athletes-appreciate-the-funding-legions-provide
www.wlac.ca
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY36hiroePc (Bond-Mills profile)
www.legion.ca
http://www.1047.ca/news/local-news/community-grants/


Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative
Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES designation)
Royal LePage Triland Realty
757 Dundas St, Woodstock
www.wesellwoodstock.com
(519) 537-1553, cell or text
Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com
Twitter: markroyallepage
Facebook: Mark Schadenberg, Royal LePage Triland

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

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CAMI to add 120 full-time workers to assembly line

General Motors plant in Ingersoll is thriving

By Mark Schadenberg
INGERSOLL – Mike VanBoekel is reporting some good news from the Unifor Local 88 office here.
Who is Mike VanBoekel?
He is the union plant chair at CAMI Automotive and the auto manufacturer plans on hiring 120 more employees.
CAMI constructs cars for General Motors – Chev Equinox and GMC Terrain (pictured below) – and employs more than 2,800. It is one of the important steering wheels of the Oxford County economy, so this news must be greeted as great news as the CAMI engine is currently in full throttle.
Production began at CAMI way back in 1989, so the manufacturer is going strong after 25 years. It opened as a co-production between GM and Suzuki, but for the past five years has been solely GM.
To put things in perspective, especially reading several previously posted stories online, CAMI has over 1,100 cars roll off the assembly line each and every day. My quick math, says that's about 300,000 each year. Wow !
In early 2013, it was announced that GM of Canada was investing about $250 million into the Ingersoll plant, so those dollars have translated into jobs.

“Anytime you throw that kind of money into a plant it very much helps our job stability in the long term,” said plant Unifor chair Mike VanBoekel (pictured) in the early spring of 2013. “The floor’s very excited, very happy with the announcement.”

Recently, JD Power & Associates named CAMI as the No 2 plant in North America using several variables, including production.
CAMI – I understand - means Canadian Automotive Manufacturing Incorporated.
It was back in 2009 that CAMI discontinued building the Suzuki SUV cars (XL7). Back then in a 'pdf newsletter' publicly posted on the internet, VanBoekel discussed the poor 2008 economy with employees.

“(The 2008 year) will go down as one of the worst years that Local 88 and CAMI have ever seen. The loss of an entire shift, numerous down weeks and extremely low sales volumes leaves our workforce with more questions than answers. Our membership has done their job, we continue to build very high quality vehicles, out start-up after down weeks have gone smoothly and our pilot work continues to be ahead of schedule for our next vehicle.”

LINKS:
Current:
http://www.am980.ca/2014/08/19/cami-hiring/
http://www.1047.ca/news/local-news/cami-hiring/

March, 2013:

Looking Back to 2008-09:



Work in Oxford County? Consider living here too !
Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative
Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES designation)
Royal LePage Triland Realty
757 Dundas St, Woodstock
www.wesellwoodstock.com
(519) 537-1553, cell or text
Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com
Twitter: markroyallepage
Facebook: Mark Schadenberg, Royal LePage Triland

Discussion . . . Direction . . . Determination . . . Destination
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Tuesday, 12 August 2014

Hamilton sees boom in condo developments

Province promotes building up -- intensification
Several condominium projects in Hamilton, including creative utilization of a former church facade
By Mark Schadenberg
Intensification is what the Province of Ontario calls this practise in their legislation entitled the Provincial Policy Statement (2005 and 2014).
For developers and builders it translates into building up and not out, and creating more condominium projects.
It's certainly the story of the summer of 2014 in the core of Hamilton.
As football fans in the Steel City patiently waited for the new home of the Tiger-Cats (Tim Hortons Field; www.ticats.ca) to complete construction (story for another day), the massive changes in the skyline of Hamilton can be seen in several new (some under construction already) and proposed condo complexes.
The Hamilton Spectator has compiled a list of more than 20 multi-unit new complexes projected or now under construction.
The former James Street Baptist Church is interesting with its transformation and an addition of 30 floors and 250 or more condo apartment units as well. Called The Connolly after its original architect (it open in the early 1880's) Joseph Connelly, lots of captivating details can be viewed and discovered at www.stantonrenaissance.com as this appears to me anyway as a stunning method of maintaining heritage (the original facade and one tower still stand from the original church) and the old Gothic style of church design and simultaneously creating both central business/office space and a residential condo to be 30 stories tall. To top it off, the heating/cooling system will be geothermal.
Site plan approval from Hamilton city council could occur as early as mid-September.
Total cost will be in the $80 million range.

"What makes Hamilton unique is that this is happening in a historic space in an established city. Burlington, Mississauga, Vaughan, they don't have the 150 years of social fabric to work with," says Jason Thorne, the city's new senior manager of planning and economic development. "That means we have to approach this carefully."

One question that Hamilton council will debate with developers over the next few years is an apparent and obvious conflict between city revenue in necessary development charges for new residential growth and its accompanying service versus the builders' goal of maintaining realistic costs which later can be transferred to reasonable sale prices for the new condos. Bottom line for Hamilton is that the municipality (Like all residential centres, including Woodstock) must entice attractive and necessary residential households of all sorts, but abide by the PPS and also not make costs and policies too excessive for builders.
By the way, even though shovels have not hit the ground, the Stanton Renaissance folks are certainly compiling a registration list.
A CMHC report in September of 2012 noted that condominiums represented 10.8 per cent of the home ownership market in 2006 in the Hamilton market, compared to just 3.3 per cent in 1981.

FRIENDLY CITY
In Woodstock, meanwhile, works continues on transforming a Harvey Woods factory on VanSittart into modest rental apartments (www.indwell.ca), and the city also witnessed about five years ago the remarkable evolution of a Paquette sock factory into a rental apartment building, plus two former schools into condominiums (Broadway and Chapel), plus a church on Winniett Street into an income property of apartments.

LINKS:
www.stinsonschool.com
2012 Story:
http://www.thespec.com/news-story/2115589-the-condominium-conundrum/


Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative
Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES designation)
Royal LePage Triland Realty
757 Dundas St, Woodstock
www.wesellwoodstock.com
(519) 537-1553, cell or text
Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com
Twitter: markroyallepage
Facebook: Mark Schadenberg, Royal LePage Triland

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

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Monday, 11 August 2014

Area real estate market posts good July results

WIDREB board sales numbers for July of 2014
By Mark Schadenberg
After a late start to the selling season in Oxford County and most of Ontario due to a wicked winter, the spring market in the Woodstock-Ingersoll district (WIDREB) area appears to be continuing right into the summer.
Remember back to the winter of 13-14 and our WIDREB board reporting just 44 sales in January, well in July of 2014 there were 121 reported sales as compared to 122 in 2013, 96 in 2012, 95 in 2011, and only 85 in 2010.
As you can also see from the accompanying chart, sale prices have increased somewhat dramatically since 2010.


I try not to be negative about the average sale price, but the number has been skewed upwards due to three factors – the increase in lot prices for a new home locally, the increase in construction costs, and the lack of listings. 
Going further, I do believe that the re-sale price of a 5-year-old home, for example, moves upward when a consumer can see its value (usually) with a finished basement, lots of landscaping, paved driveway, and a larger lot. Especially, when you factor in a low number of listings versus the number of home seekers.
In other words, when considering construction costs and lots values, a new home today for $350,000 would have likely been around $280,000 five years ago with all square footage numbers and building styles being equal.
As for overall sales numbers for the first 7 months on the calendar, July of 2014 fares about average when looking at the past 10 years. See the numbers:
2014: 707
2013: 766
2012: 653
2011: 705
2010: 785
2009: 611
2008: 745
2007: 836
2006: 777
2005: 983 (Correct; the Toyota is building in Woodstock excitement)
WATCHING & LEARNING
In the meantime, if you're thinking about buying a home – especially if you're a first-time buyer - there's several good tips and hints in the video as part of the web Links below. The video also depicts all the facets of the home buying process which a Realtor will assist (guide) you in.
Also be sure to check www.wedothehomework.ca as it breaks down tips for both home sellers and home buyers.
I think it's important to those also selling a home, that they should consult with at least 3 local Realtors before putting their home on the market – at the right price and with a full-time local Realtor.
After watching the video, give me a call to start your journey.

LINK:
www.wesellwoodstock.com

Call me today and ask about 681 Princess St, Woodstock
Listed At: $162,900
Lots of value for a young family

Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative
Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES designation)
Royal LePage Triland Realty
757 Dundas St, Woodstock
www.wesellwoodstock.com
(519) 537-1553, cell or text
Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com
Twitter: markroyallepage
Facebook: Mark Schadenberg, Royal LePage Triland
Discussion . . . Direction . . . Determination . . . Destination


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Thursday, 7 August 2014

Ottawa university could bring classrooms to Friendly City

French university for Woodstock downtown is a smart opportunity
By Mark Schadenberg
The downtown of Brantford includes a terrific post-secondary education multi-building campus for Laurier University (Two pictures at bottom). The Waterloo-based school is also planning on expanding to Milton.
A satellite university or college – anything away from its original campus – can only be a plus for a community, whether the new school space is in the central core of a city or the outskirts.
London, for example, in my opinion, is missing a wonderful opportunity if it does not roll out the welcome mat for a larger Fanshawe College site on its Dundas Street in the Kingsmill department store locale.
I'm guessing that most universities and colleges have outgrown their original footprint at their original site, and must now set the sights at alternate sites.
Woodstock is a great location for more Fanshawe.
Woodstock is a great location for the University of Ottawa to build a French-speaking school, even if part of the curriculum is taught in the French immersion format. Woodstock has two French immersion elementary school and a JK-12 French-only school. Growing up bilingual (Our two national languages) is integral in today's Canada.

The folks in Ottawa appear prepared for this proposed expansion in southern Ontario.
“As Ontario’s flagship bilingual research-intensive university, we are committed to meeting the needs of Francophones . . . wishing to pursue their post-secondary education in French,” said Allan Rock, president of the University of Ottawa in a press release. “We greatly appreciate the vision and commitment of the City of Woodstock. The University of Ottawa looks forward to working in partnership with Woodstock to realize this vision and support Ontario’s francophone and francophile communities,”

The Reg Hall building across the street from Woodstock's City Hall (500 Dundas) will be the first classroom setup for the university if all the strings can be tied together, including funding directed from the provincial government.
Woodstock has other downtown locations which could be transformed into post-secondary schools. That list includes WCI (I went to that high school, but folks it will not always exist as a high school I'm afraid) on Riddell Street, the nearby Woodstock Hydro building on Graham, the truly wonderful architecture of a retired church at 34 Riddell (corner of Adelaide), and even the 386 Dundas 3-storey storefront which already includes the accessibility-important feature of an elevator.
Ingersoll has a Conestoga College location specializing in the hydro / electrical industry.
This idea of expanding schools beyond their current centres also includes Ottawa's Carleton university as speculation includes a possible campus in Niagara Falls.
This could be an election issue in Woodstock this fall, but I would hope all candidates are 100 percent behind this idea.

LINKS:

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/u-of-o-plans-woodstock-campus-carleton-eyes-cornwall-and-niagara

Laurier -Brantford Pictures



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Monday, 4 August 2014

100 Years since Canada joined First World War

Significant date in history: Aug. 4, 1914
By Mark Schadenberg
With conflicts always existing around the globe – sometimes worse than others, it's still not easy to forget that 100 years ago this week the First World War was truly ignited as Britain declared war on Germany on Aug. 4, 1914.
The war escalated quickly as it was just on June 28 of 1914 when Archduke Franz Ferdinand (pictured), heir to the Austrian throne, was assassinated by Gravilo Princip, a member of a Serbian nationalist group. The assassination took place in Sarajevo.

The timetable moved quickly.
Germany would soon invade France and Belgium, and on Aug. 4, 1914, England (With all countries part of its dominion included such as Canada) would declare war after Germany didn't heed a deadline to withdraw its presence.
Canada's prime minister throughout the war was Robert Borden (pictured below).

The war continued until Nov. 11, 1918 with as many as 16 million deaths – both military and civilian in total. It is estimated that 66,000 Canadians were killed.
Canadian history is accumulated with stories about bravery and loss of life in locations such as Passchendaele, which is a small city in Belgium. Canadian actor/director Paul Gross would bring Passchendaele (Third Battle of Ypres) to vivid life in 2008 with a movie by the same name, written to specifically chronicle the battle there, which also included many other forces especially those from New Zealand. Since these historical moments were in 1917 it will be interesting (in my opinion) to note how Canada will mark 2017 for both is 150 years since Confederation and its 100 years since its most significant contributions to the First World War efforts.
By the way, as a crow flies, Passchendaele is actually quite close to England's east coast and today would be a very short air flight to London, England.



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Viceroy and Comfort Homes have office on Athlone in Woodstock

Comfort Homes is a sensible option for new construction
By Mark Schadenberg
Woodstock certainly has its share of quality local home builders.
If you're looking for any information on home construction in Woodstock, contact me anytime.
About three years ago, a model home was built along the 401 (great visibility for commuters) at 560 Athlone Avenue by Viceroy (www.viceroy.com). The picture of that house is included here and is quite attractive with a smart, functional and unique layout.

It would appear that the folks promoting the Viceroy name have now branched out somewhat and you can study them at www.comforthomes.ca.
Comfort Homes and Ted Rumsey (picture from London Free Press) – twice this spring – received significant free promotion as his company was featured in The Homes pullout section of the London Free Press (see the link) and they were also highlighted prominently at the London Spring Home and Garden Show.
On the day I stopped into the Woodstock sales office, my conversation with Rumsey was soon interrupted by a walk-in prospect.
The concept for Comfort Homes is certainly not new as there was a so-called Alcan factory in Woodstock about 40 years ago building houses that essentially featured a finished house dropped on top of a poured foundation. These homes are still scattered around the city – mostly though on Alice, Sunset, Short, Kipling and Keats.
Comfort Homes’ website states: “Our homes meet or exceed all new Canadian building and energy codes. Every high quality modular home we build comes standard with the latest in energy-saving technology and features. Saving you money for years to come”
Various models and plans can be researched, including several 2-storey options, and Rumsey explained both in the Free Press story and to me on my visit that the overall construction costs per square foot can be reduced through the Comfort Homes (1-888-600-9336; dial locally 533-0885) building plans.
I would think this building system could be applied best in a rural setting – perhaps part of a cluster of homes on a country road or where a farmer perhaps wants to rebuild a modest house and replace the 150-year-old drafty farm house.
The following is an example as noted in the LFP story as its obvious that wiring and furnace installation must be done at the building site.
       ()()()()()()()()()()()
THE BOTTOM LINE
A breakdown of estimated complete costs for the Ashton, including roof detail and porch:
  • Modules delivered to lot in southern Ontario $99,849
  • Crane onto foundation; completed siding, roofing and interior trim $20,000
  • Front porch and gable roof detail $3,500
  • Full eight-foot high poured concrete foundation $17,000
  • On-site completion of mechanicals: $7,500
Total: $147,849

       ()()()()()()()()()()()


After looking through the website, it's easy to see that a true market exists for this company in southern Ontario.

Mark Schadenberg
Royal LePage Triland
Woodstock, Ont
(519) 537-1553


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