An update on the status of the Gummer and adjacent buildings affected by the Good Friday fire. Clean-up efforts involving the City, property owners, insurers and contractors continue following last Friday’s fire that devastated two downtown buildings and affected a number of others. Safety of the public and preservation of the limestone building facades remain […]
Category: Going Downtown
Why save the Gummer Building?
We’ve all often heard the expression, “It’s cheaper to build new than it is to reconstruct.” That’s not true. I’ve always found that it’s much cheaper to use an existing structure. Now, doing so is more complicated, and you actually have to be a better builder to do that kind of work, but if you […]
Gummer Fire: Saving the facades
Following the Gummer Building fire of Friday April 6, 2007 the City of Guelph issued this press release. Also posted are the Guelph Building Department’s Press release and video clip of fire. Public safety, heritage preservation and continuity plans for businesses among immediate priorities in wake of downtown fire Following Friday’s fire that spread through […]
Idling Buses in the Square
Many people ask City Councillors and transit staff why does the City of Guelph allow buses to idle in St. George’s Square. It creates unnecessary noise and pollution and contributes to the carbon loading of our atmosphere. Here is staff’s response to this question: Engine manufacturers had traditionally recommended that diesel engines be allowed to idle for […]
More Gummer Pics
Gummer 5 Gummer 6 Gummer 7 Gummer 8 Gummer 9 Gummer 10 Gummer 11 Gummer 12 Gummer 13 More Pics on Blog Guelph
Gummer History
A huge thank you to Chief Shawn Armstrong, Chief Rob Davis, City Officials and all the hard working men and women who worked tirelessly to save what could be saved of the historical facades. There are three buildings involved with the fire of April 6, 2007
Historic Gummer Building Badly Damaged
A suspicious fire broke out in the historic Gummer Building in Downtown Guelph on Friday April 6 at 2am. No injuries were reported although several business’s have received extensive damage. Early estimates indicate that the fire has caused between $1 and $2 million in damage. Gummer Building Media Release Fire Department Media Release Gummer Pic 1 […]
Idling By-law
Councillors have received a number of requests to revisit the idling by-law in Guelph. One of the obstacles to this is the City operated buses idling in the downtown. There have been some complications to this as the buses need to run in order to operate doors and ventilation. Staff is working on this problem and a more […]
For Whose Eyes Only? We say yours.
The City of Guelph Incentives Study was the final report by urbanMetrics, a Toronto based market, economic and strategic planning consulting firm. It was prepared for the Guelph Economic Development Department in December 2005 and has not been released to the public. Executive Summary highlights include a blueprint for the City to increase tax revenue […]
The parking nightmare on Carden Street.
With construction underway on the new City Hall in Downtown Guelph, many short term parking spaces were eliminated to create a staging area for construction materials. This may not seem significant unless you are a merchant on Carden street. The city is also proposing to relocate the bus transfer hub to Carden Street from the […]