Underpass Coming Soon?

 It's been rather quiet on the development front at the Lafarge site, after years of wrangling and wheeling and dealing, it seemed that something was about to be built on that land. Of course, that breakthrough came around 2008/2009, when most sides agreed to a plan that would see the area between the Hanlon, Paisley and Waterloo roads be developed as a mixed residential, commercial, and park space. And then... Nothing happened.

But is that about to change?

I've learned from a source that construction is slated to begin this spring on the tracks that separate Silvercreek Parkway North from Silvercreek Parkway South, turning it into an underpass. That would be a pretty big first step in the development of the Lafarge lands, creating a road that could be easily accessed from the Hanlon Parkway.

I'm rather ambivilant about this. On the one hand, I can appreciate that this is a space for big development, and that it is preferable to in-fill rather than pave new green space along the edge of town. But on the other hand, this site was home to various industries - not just Lafarge, but the land was the site of the original Sleeman Brewery - for over a century, and has since been reclaimed by nature. It's a fascinating area that I've recently renewed my efforts in documenting, so I hope that full blown construction doesn't start too soon.

But if it does, c'est la vie. Stay tuned for further developments.