Piece of history removed from Uxbridge

Work to be a 'deconstruction' say officials
Mar 04, 2010 - 04:30 AM
By Jeff Hayward

UXBRIDGE -- There won't be a 'big boom' like some may have anticipated.

Heavy equipment has rolled into the demolition site at Toronto Street and Victoria Drive, where the old Co-op buildings will be removed and a new glass office building of First Leaside Securities will be erected.

But Joan Wilson of First Leaside, who is overseeing the project, said it won't be a spectacular show involving explosives to bring down the existing buildings. "It's more of a deconstruction than a demolition," she said.

The construction is a green LEED project that looks not only at the construction of the new site, but the entire process, noted First Leaside staff.

Jeff Norton of JMX Contracting Inc. was busy with his crew taking apart the structures at the site March 2, and expects the removal to be completed by the end of the month. He noted most material can be re-used. "I'm going to retain all the structural timber, and return it to the client," he said, noting the wood can be made into furniture by local business Gilldercroft for the new Leaside office. "We recycle everything (except asbestos), it's not cost-effective to go to landfill."

While it's not exactly clear when the Co-op was erected, some Township officials agreed it was built in the 1950s. "Judging by the timber, I'm guessing 1940s," offered Mr. Norton, whose operation has completed demolition projects around Ontario including the Canadian Malting Silos in Toronto recently.

Some residents gathered outside the perimeter fence to take in the show March 2. One of them was Don Scott, who has memories of the Co-op from early in his life. "I used to come to this building as a kid, I used to feed the cats in there," said Mr. Scott. "When I got older I did a bunch of electrical wiring (at the site) with my father ... the basement is one of the scariest places I've been, it looks like a horror movie."

The inside of the buildings are smeared with graffiti and cobwebs hang from the ceiling. Remnants of old equipment within the walls are the only sign of the operation that once was.

Meanwhile, the long-awaited project was delayed for a number of factors including wading through "several layers of approval" from groups such as GO Transit and Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority, noted Ms. Wilson. First Leaside was also waiting for the Township to finalize its redevelopment incentives under a Community Improvement Plan, she added. "It's a complicated project because of the site," she added.

You said Erected....tee hee...

LOL @ BeerBunny!

OH man, that sorta strikes a chord with me...and makes me homesick for the east coast...I used to go every year for the first 19 years of my life. A few years ago I started staying home with the dogs when the rest of my family went. Anyway, there is a Co-op grocery store in the tiny town where my mum grew up, which is where most of her family is and where we stay down there. We don't really have them up here in Ontario, so anytime I've driven past these buildings when I'm farting around the Uxbridge area, I'm filled with this lame sense of joy and longing for the Atlantic *insert sappy movie music here*...ANYHOW...
The point is this sorta makes me sad. ...wonder about the Co-op in Claremont. There is one there, too, is there not? And an LCBO outlet!

Posted by TheMadHatter LOL @ BeerBunny! OH man, that sorta strikes a chord with me...and makes me homesick for the east coast...I used to go every year for the first 19 years of my life. A few years ago I started staying home with the dogs when the rest of my family went. Anyway, there is a Co-op grocery store in the tiny town where my mum grew up, which is where most of her family is and where we stay down there. We don't really have them up here in Ontario, so anytime I've driven past these buildings when I'm farting around the Uxbridge area, I'm filled with this lame sense of joy and longing for the Atlantic *insert sappy movie music here*...ANYHOW... The point is this sorta makes me sad. ...wonder about the Co-op in Claremont. There is one there, too, is there not? And an LCBO outlet!

Excuse me?!?! LCBO OUTLET? What? Where, how?
I drive through Claremont every day...they had this....this piece of heaven and I didn't know?!

ROTFL! Um, ok it's ...Jesus I don't know the name of the street...lemme see if I can map it for you...
here we go: http://maps.google...Y+1B8,+Canada&z=15

drunken ueing? lol *types this while sipping red wine*
ALSO on the same street as this house, there WAS (I think it's been torn down now) this abandoned house...big and really nice too! But it was heavily boarded and there were many other houses close by. Also close to and highly visible from the street.

ROTFL I could only imagine! I MEAN, EVERYTHING is more exciting with a little draaynk! haha ;)

Posted by BeerBunny Excuse me?!?! LCBO OUTLET? What? Where, how? I drive through Claremont every day...they had this....this piece of heaven and I didn't know?!

It's on Hoxton just past the Tracks, if you buy from there proceeds will go towards the Atlantic Salmon restoration in local creeks.