Category: News 2019

Capitol Theatre Expands

John Draper

In keeping with their intention to improve the theatre’s service to the community, the Capitol has announced an expansion.  Both the ground floor and the second floor will be expanded into the space currently used as a patio adjacent to the lobby.  On the ground floor, the lobby will be expanded, and there will be additional storage space, expanded women’s washroom facilities and improved catering facilities.  On the second floor, a new rehearsal space will be provided which will free up the Sculthorpe theatre for community use 12 months of the year instead of the current 4 months.  With a theatre capacity of 390, the lobby currently struggles to cope with the intermission crowd but the additional 900 sq. ft…. Read complete articleCapitol Theatre Expands

CFIB ranks Cobourg for Entrepreneurs

John Draper

Cobourg’s size is at the lower end of the 125 cities surveyed by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) but it’s doing better than many other cities – even better than the City of Toronto and about the same as Belleville.  CFIB says that local governments “control only some of the levers that make cities work. How well these levers are used, however, can make a tremendous difference to local businesses and residents”.  But they concede that “while local governments can influence local economic activity, they can’t usually make it happen directly. For that, they need local entrepreneurs to carry the ball — those who risk their own capital, time and effort”.  But when municipal governments do it right,… Read complete articleCFIB ranks Cobourg for Entrepreneurs

Condos in East End of Cobourg

John Draper

It’s not only affordable Rental housing that’s scarce in Cobourg, but also reasonably priced condos – at least that’s what “200’s” is now considered to be. Stalwood homes has already built and sold 20 such units in their East End development off the South end of Brook Rd North and now wants to start phase 2 with another 20.   At Monday’s C.O.W. Council meeting, the site plan for two more 10-plex units was approved although Councillor Emily Chorley was “disappointed” that there were no accessible units included.  Director Glenn McGlashon explained that the Province does not require housing less than 600 sq. metres to include them.  The developer said that all 20 have been presold and in response to a… Read complete articleCondos in East End of Cobourg

Council Acts on Affordable Housing

John Draper

At the Committee of the Whole meeting on April 1st, Council was asked to approve support for both the Balder Corporation Proposal and the Trinity Housing Proposal – both of which were behind Nicole Beatty’s initiative to add $250,000 to the Town’s 2019 budget for affordable housing projects.  Staff provided a 28 page memo outlining measures that could be taken to provide support.  One of these is the creation of a Townwide Community Improvement Plan to allow certain incentives to be provided and another is additional staff to implement a “new housing program”.  Staff suggested actions that would cost $360K in addition to a shortfall in revenue of $52K.  Most of this would go towards the Trinity Housing project.  At… Read complete articleCouncil Acts on Affordable Housing

Commercial Properties Update – March 2019

John Draper

Although there are concerns about some empty stores in Cobourg, there are other businesses that seem to be doing well.  But even if you are doing well, it may be time to retire or simply move on.  In addition, some businesses are tenants and the owners of their building want to sell. When businesses and buildings sell, it lets everyone know what the market thinks that these properties and businesses are worth.  Real Estate agents have to publish their offerings to connect with buyers yet they are also often coy about letting the public know because the business may not want clients to know they are thinking of moving out or maybe shutting down.  In many cases, there are two… Read complete articleCommercial Properties Update – March 2019

Dog Park Lease comes up for Renewal

John Draper

In 2014, the Town of Cobourg agreed to create a dog park.  This was an area for dog owners to allow their pets to exercise off-leash and was at least partly motivated by the fact that many dog owners were using James Cockburn Park and that this was against GRCA rules and also unwelcome by other Park users.  A policy was developed to define what was wanted and then a search was made to find a suitable location.  In the end, although “many areas were considered, finding a suitable area that met the criteria proved difficult. 777 Ontario Street is centrally located in Cobourg and, with the addition of a parking lot and a small amount of fencing, meets the… Read complete articleDog Park Lease comes up for Renewal

Esplanade Traffic and Parking

John Draper

In August 2017 and again in October 2017, residents living in the Condos on the Esplanade asked that Council look at  traffic and parking issues on the Esplanade in summer but they remained on the unfinished business list for well over a year.  At their first meeting in 2019, Council reviewed the list and called for reports on each of them.  Further, Councillor Emily Chorley successfully made a motion that called for the reports to be made in no more than three months.  No doubt because of that, Director of Public Works, Laurie Wills, will present the first report at the next Committee of the Whole meeting on April 1st.  Two items are addressed: 1) a concern about traffic congestion… Read complete articleEsplanade Traffic and Parking

Ken Prue wants Ban on Town competing on Entertainment

John Draper

Nobody seems unhappy that the Town produces Movies in the Park or organizes the Sand Castle Festival but Loft owner Ken Prue objects to the Town competing with Concerts.  A case in point is this coming weekend when there are seven significant entertainment events mostly produced by not-for-profit organizations yet the Town is putting on a Concert at the Community Centre that directly competes.  Ken has put his case into an email addressed to all Councillors and the local media.  He starts by saying: “Cobourg is rich in entertainment and cultural offerings. This weekend 3/27 to 3/31/2019,  many mainstays of our cultural landscape present first rate entertainment”. Then he lists the seven competing events and the Town’s competing event –… Read complete articleKen Prue wants Ban on Town competing on Entertainment