HawthorneVillager.com

This is in today's Metro:
http://metronews.ca/story_local.aspx?id=65916

Very interesting...I wonder who will "bite first". Who ever it is, I hope its soon!!!

btw, Where exactly is this land?

_________________

You can see a sign on the piece of land on the south side of Main Street between Wilson and the RR tracks.

Omg, those "old milton" people are definitely not gonna like that!!! lol Imagine the traffic!!!

I can't quite decide how I feel about it myself. I can see economical benefits for local business, but I also worry about the college crowd renting homes in the neighbourhood and turning them into party central. Not to mention traffic chaos in the area.

And would this be a good thing or bad thing in terms of property values?

I can't imagine there is enough room there. Apparently the school board needs 12 acres to build a high school. I would think they will need considerably more to build a post secondary facility. ???

when will we find out about who got the land?

_________________

Agreed.

While other factors are involved, University of Toronto at Mississauga is in the middle of a residential area, and I don't think it's become party central.

Also, if you look at the area around UBC, housing has really gone up - again, it's not the only factor.

I also hope its one of the big Universities/Colleges...York, Ryerson,UofT,George Brown or Centennial

I surly wouldn't like to see something like Uncle Joe's School of Business

_________________

Imagine if UWO picks it up somehow - that would probably drive property values up through the roof!

There could be a lot of spin-off benefits from this, if managed properly, and it could really legitimize Milton in terms of a town/city, taking it into a new class of recognition. I'm sure that growth has its downsides as well, however.

I for one would prefer a graduate school to be put up. i.e. pharmacy school, med school, optometry, law school...

undergrads are annoying...i know...cause i used to be 1!! haha.

It is a very small site... They aren't going to be able to do much with it... maybe a few classrooms, but the site will not work for any kind of campus. It strikes me that this is a PR move, not a serious proposition for any of the major schools.


Marc

Hi everyone
Good to see some publicity on the site which Milton Council approved this spring for a two year offer to area universities and colleges for a satellite campus similar to what the City of Burlington is doing on a one (that right 1 acre) site in downtown Burlington off Brant street along with $ 15 million in fund raising after they signed an agreement with Mac Master University.

The Town got the property last year after a complicated deal involving the Federal government and mortgagee as the former owner Pigment & chemical went bankrupt in 1990 and the buildings were demolished by the Town in 1994.

The Town needs about 2 acres at the west end tip for the Main Street underpass which is budgeted for 2010 (check milton.ca under financial statements) leaving a 5 acre site which is zoned for up to four storeys similar to the neighbouring properties on both sides of Main Street.

The aim of the Town is to attract a post secondary institution similar to other communities such as Brampton, Brantford, Stoney Creek and others which also helps in attracting employers and other businesses.

The Town will also be selling the 2+ acre Works Yard on Nipissing Road just south of the site in the next 2-3 years which could also be part of any redevelopment of the area.

With the potential for two way all day GO Train traffic next door only 200 metres from the site along the north side of the tracks the site could attract students from Mississauga and Toronto.

Check milton.ca under MEDAC alpha line for more details.

Colin Best
Co-Chair Milton Economic Development Advisory Committee

ps. have seen campuses on smaller properties than this one!

Well done Milton!

Looks like some real forward thinking on this deal. As a parent of four, I would love to see some post secondary opportunities in Town. The access to the GO will be a huge bonus for both the campus and students.

Thanks Colin.

Agreed, this is a forward thinking move. Many major schools, and faculties within them, have small satellite campuses in various geographic locations. For example, the UWO Ivey Business School has a Toronto campus in downtown Toronto and even a campus in Hong Kong, mainly for Executive MBA and related offerings. In today's wired world, no site is too small for a remote learning/teaching facility, particularly one in a growing market around the GTA.

I was wrong, the site is about 7 1/2 acres... I thought it was a lot smaller then that.

Marc