Living in Aurora, Town of Aurora, Ontario » Developments

Walked Alone Along the St. John’s Sideroad, Views Will Never Be The Same

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 17:48:36 +0000

We are definitely a growing community in the Town of Aurora. Not sure how much the population in the Town of Aurora will increase, but along the St. John’s sideroad between Bayview Street and Leslie Street there will be a substantial number of residents moving into new houses in the near future.

Some will be just moving from one Aurora home to another home in Aurora, and some will be newcomers.

St. John’s Sideroad, Town of Aurora

By looking at the construction site area we are not seeing a small project here.

St. John’s Sideroad, Town of Aurora

It used to be a beautiful scenic ride along that path or a bike ride or a walk. Walk may be somehow dangerous as there was never much of a side path for walking. Those times are now gone just like the times for St. John’s sideroad between Yonge Street and Bayview Street – the farm view is now gone.

St. John’s Sideroad, Town of Aurora

Last summer in June 2013 I took a three hour hike along St. John’s sideroad, back and forth. I missed to photo shoot the original scenery along that path, just because I procrastinated – beautiful corn fields and the blue house, and some trees with character are now gone. The blue house wasn’t that old (1998) but it had to be removed. So this time I thought if I wait any longer I will really miss the ultimate change.

St. John’s Sideroad, Town of Aurora

Since that time things have been rolling. Now when anyone drives along that stretch will notice construction site and the sales office. Not a pretty site now. Since residential buildings are production houses I cannot see how nice the views will be. I can also suspect that the road will need some widening.

St. John’s Sideroad, Town of Aurora

It will be interesting if along that road will we ever see road kills. Road kills like snapping turtles, black squirrels and something flat and orange, quite unrecognizable I have seen. I did photograph those grotesque scenes but I rather not share them here – just imagine.

St. John’s Sideroad, Town of Aurora

Have You Noticed, The Landmark Crane In Aurora Is Gone

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Sun, 05 May 2013 00:43:24 +0000

The famous landmark crane that was standing on The Ridgewood condominium construction site on the John West Way is now gone.

The crane was with us for a while and if you paid attention that crane was visible from few spots in Aurora. The St. John’s sideroad, Bayview Street and Industrial Parkway are just few places the crane was visible.

Partial Crane Left

I have been tracking progress of this building since the foundation. Since the crane is gone now, one can assume that this is the height of the building. The glass windows and doors are now being added, and at night lights are on. It used to be the crane that was lit up before.

The other day I was lucky enough to see departure of the crane sections. I didn’t notice anything at first. Funny how it goes, it was after few snaps that I realized that the crane was missing, but I was fortunate to arrive and to see what was left of the crane.

Taking Crane Parts Away

In addition, visiting this site many times, I encountered few interesting incidences like lifting some major concrete walls, lifting portable toilets and pumping concrete from the concrete truck right across the building. What can I say, I like construction sites.

Just in case you missed the crane, here are some pictures I took last winter – Winter-y Evening Drive Near John West Way, Construction Site & Year 2012 In Review.

This will be probably the biggest yet condominium in Aurora, if I am not mistaken.

Wide Load

And below is an evening shot of one of the building faces I took around nine o’clock after photo shooting the Aurora Art Show at the Town Hall on Friday.

At night, Installing Windows

The Petch Log House, Built To Last, Part II

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 02:44:22 +0000

Going on the third month the Petch log house re-building continues. However, the major elements of the house are completed and of what I have seen so far, this house is going to be built to last for many generations to come.

I drove last weekend (December 16th, 2012) by the site and I noticed that they started to work on the siding, the face that is facing John West Way. I am sure by the time I get there tomorrow, all will be completed. If not me I hope someone else will take some pictures.

Inside, Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, November 20th, 2012.

In reference to the picture above – originally there was a second floor in the Petch Log House accessible via stairs. As you can see on the picture above only half is covered.

It was suggested to leave this opening so visitors can see the second level or the attic. Since the second floor, or attic floor is not strong enough – visitors will not be allowed to see the attic if full floor is installed.

So far the opening is still there.

Secondary Roof, Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, November 20th, 2012.

Well, this is a secondary roof – indestructible.

And here is something I did not see – how they built the overhang above the two windows, same on the other side.

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, November 27th, 2012.

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, November 29th, 2012.

On the 28th of November the roof was covered with ceder shingles. I arrived one day late to see it done. Well at least I got the footage of the big beam arrival and its installation which now hides under.

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, November 29th, 2012.

Not to worry about the windows. The boards are temporary. The windows and doors are custom made – just have to wait for those.

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, December 6th, 2012.

The above is one of my favorite photos. Note how the shadow from the overhang is almost aligned with the overhang, just slightly off because I was little late to shoot.

So what is so special about that photo? Well, the blue textured sky, the perfect light shining in the right direction, the symmetry and the ladder on the side. And the hint of the vapor barrier sheet that is going to cover the wood logs until uncovered again. Who knows when?

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, December 6th, 2012.

What else can I say? Ouch, that wall paper (vapor barrier) is not my favorite one, but I am sure the siding will, its made of wood. Confession to make, I thought it was going to be aluminum or some kind of engineered material. I am so glad to be wrong sometimes.

The new siding looks very new and plain. It will not be painted just let to age.

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, December 7th, 2012.

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, December 12th, 2012.

The Petch Log House, Built To Last, Part I

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 00:42:19 +0000

Last August 2011 Petch log house was taken apart – the restoration process began. In September 2012 preparation for re-building the Petch log house started on John West Way, near the Aurora Senior Centre and the entrance to the Community Arboretum.

Petch Log House, Foundation, October 04, 2012

First it was a pit filled with gravel, then foundation poured and then the assembly started. I have been following and photographing re-building of the Petch log house since October. My very first visit and real photo shoot took place on October 26th. When I was on the site the house was already three logs high in some places.

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, October 26, 2012.

Since that day I was showing up every few days. Mainly on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and some Fridays, when Matthew was in school. Watching it changing radically was interesting experience, photographing it was a rewarding experience.

I did upgrade my equipment since last year, new camera and new lenses, hopefully getting better too, and I can’t complain about the overcast skies I had through most of the initial re-construction of the house – all was just perfect, not to mention the hospitality of all those who worked on the site.

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, November 1st, 2012.

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, November 6th, 2012.

The house is now very close to the completion. If am not mistaken the wood siding installation started on Thursday or Friday of last week (December 13th, 14th).

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, November 6th, 2012.

The house is well reinforced with additional materials – two by fours wedged inside the window and door cutouts, solid wood wide window and door frames, square brackets on the corners where the logs are joined, and some new and modified logs that were heavily deteriorated.

The Petch log house is definitely built to last.

The Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, November 13th, 2012.

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, November 13th, 2012.

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, November 16th, 2012.

The roof rafters were built on the site. The roof was covered. So I thought they were done. Speaking of built to last, an engineered roof was added on top of the original roof to be shown in my next post. But it all started with the arrival of the big beam they put on top of the roof to start building secondary roof. I was told by Peter Van Nostrand that the big beam was coming at one o’clock, and right on the dot the beam came.

The story of the Petch log house will continue in the next post, however, let me leave you with a photo of the Petch house at sunset taken by my friend Peter Cameron. Click here to view.

The Big Beam, Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, November 16th, 2012.

Changing Aurora, Zellers Store Closing, New Resort-Style Condominiums, Safer Intersections

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 06:06:09 +0000

The Town of Aurora is gearing up for the 150 years celebrations in 2013 and there will be plenty, and there will be plenty of new developments probably ready for 2013 as well. We will be celebrating 150 years of our town but we will be celebrating new beginnings as well.

Target beginnings. Zellers stores are closing down and will be replaced with Target stores. We have one store here in Aurora on Bayview Street. I am kind of surprised that the store lasted that long. Some stores are good when merchandise go on sale and Zellers was one of them – good just for that. Zellers was never my cup of tea, but the ironic thing is that I shopped there.

Zellers Closing Down, Bayview Street, Aurora

Now the store is liquidating everything. I went there couple of times few weeks ago to check out sales and I still think it was a bit too expansive for the liquidating store. But I am sure their pricing is much better by now when closer to the store closing. The drawback is that there will be nothing left to satisfy my purchasing needs.

If I am not mistaken. Until closing the store is operating under Zellers stores – purchasing methods and reward points. However, they are in the hands of liquidators, so theoretically it is not Zellers. That means that the liquidator purchased everything in the store, all the inventory.

Usually at the beginning of liquidation the liquidator will try to make as much profit as possible and once satisfied then the prices become better even for the expensive merchandise. So if you are looking for real deal sales you may want to visit soon or closer to the store closing date.

The store building will remain, but expect a new Target store facade in the 2013.

New Ridgewood II Resort-Style Condominium Behind the Cinaplex Building

Another interesting change here in Aurora will be change to the landscape view, the new Ridgewood II Resort-Style condominium behind the Cineplex Aurora located on the same plaza as Zellers. Not sure how high these will be, but the view behind the movie theater will never be the same. It will be build to last, and the way we build those today, they will last may be forever.

On the side note, on the photo below, one of the buildings behind the new development on John West Way is the Hollandview Trail Retirement Residence, the red building. An interesting opportunity is waiting there for me – and no no no I am not retiring.

A lifestyle coordinator from this retirement residence stumble upon my photo journal blog (this blog you are reading now) and asked me to present my photos and tell stories to seniors. At first I thought – what stories? But then my every post is a story. My presentation is scheduled for mid September, so you will be hearing more about that later.

But before I change the topic. When I went to visit this place just for a quick meeting I was amazed how friendly all the seniors were. At some point they started to gather around at the lobby, main attraction being Matthew. Poor Matthew just kept nodding his head and gently smiling at them and slowly his shyness kicked in and tried to hide behind me.

New Condominiums In Front of Hollandview Retirement Centre, John West Way, Aurora

Lastly, I noticed that last year around the same time many sidewalks were fixed. And this year, just before the school, sidewalks are being fixed again and crossing lines are being painted.

At the St. John’s side road and Yonge Street intersection traffic signal posts are being pushed back further away from the intersection. Probably for safety reasons.

Street Lights Moved Back, St. John’s sideroad, Aurora

And speaking of safety. I followed up on the sidewalk that was promised by the town to be installed on the intersection of St. John’s sideroad and Earl Stewart Drive, just beside the Superstore.

A year passed and nothing happened. I asked for the update and looks like nothing was going to happen again. So I made little squeaky noise and sidewalk design was promised for September. Will keep that on the close watch because of safety concern.

In conclusion, these are some of the changes that will be in store for next year in Aurora, but there will be more – downtown Aurora, Petch log house, Wells Street School conversion to lofts are some. Look out for more on changing Aurora posts.

First Lofts In Aurora, Wells Street Schoolhouse Lofts, Spring Lookout

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 03:12:02 +0000

This is how spring looks in the Town of Aurora when looking out from the top of the Wells Street Schoolhouse Lofts, former Wells Street Public School, in all directions.

I can only imagine how beautiful it looks now when it is filled with green trees, looking over the Town Park and looking on the other side towards the Yonge Street.

Wells Street Schoolhouse Lofts, Spring Lookout Over Town Park

Images published here were taken on almost the last day of April, 2012. Perfect sky and not showcased here, but I did find small moon hanging over the Town Park during the photo shoot day. I didn’t realize that the moon was actually there until I thought I had spot from the dirty lens.

Also, I didn’t realize until Andrew Fogliato wrote more about the school, ‘Back to School, This Time to Wells Street Schoolhouse Lofts‘, that these will be the only lofts in Aurora so far and one of a kind because I don’t think we will have another heritage school like that to convert to lofts.

Wells Street Schoolhouse Lofts, Spring Lookout Over Town Park

If you like that kind of lofty style and small community living this is a perfect home sweet home. It isn’t just about this great lookout from your window or balcony, but it is also about a walking distance to the park, go station, dining and to the historic downtown.

Not to mention all the entertainment and outing you can attend at the Town Park – festivals, concerts and nice cup of coffee at the Aurora Farmer’s Market.

Wells Street Schoolhouse Lofts, Spring Lookout Over Town Park

Yes, back to school. Just couple of weeks and Matthew will be going to school for the first time. Four years passed just like that. I am so glad that I took so many photos of him, because so much has happened that all my photos serve me as a good reminder of many things we did together.

All those photos also serve me as a good reminder how fast Aurora is changing. On Yonge Street, North of Wellington condominiums will be build. Same behind the Cinaplex Odeon on John West Way.

Zellers targeted by Target in few months will be Target store. Across the Nokiidaa Trail Link on St. John’s sideroad, overlooking the Atkinson Park new houses are being build. No going back to school at the George Browning house – demolished. No renovations at the Isaac Petch farm house – will be demolished.

Wells Street Schoolhouse Lofts, Spring Lookout Churches & Aurora Cultural Centre

Of all these projects going on in the Town of Aurora I am mostly in favor of Wells Street Schoolhouse Lofts project. The former school will continue to be our historic landmark and will be shining in the Town Park for many many years to come. It always be a school but with different purpose.

Wells Street Schoolhouse Lofts, Spring Lookout

Aurora Strategic Plan, Sustainable Communities, How? High Density Housing

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 03:52:59 +0000

Building sustainable community in the Town of Aurora, a community that promotes sustainable living by reducing use of Earth’s natural resources, is my next topic for the Aurora’s 2031 Strategic Plan.

We all know that the idea of sustainable community or living is not new. With all the buzz of climate change around the world (too hot or too cold), we know that change must take place as soon as right now. We all must act together, but remember the sustainable living starts at home and then spreads out.

The Ridgewood, Aurora

In 20 years I will be 60. My goal in 20 years is to go back to even more sustainable living, as far as back to my early childhood years where my sole means of commuting was walking. Walking to school, to store, to church or to a bus station as far as 3 km away from home. Even biking wasn’t an option – it was always the eldest child who was granted a bike, and it wasn’t me.

I read an article in the Auroran yesterday, Wells Street facade is utmost priority school owner says [The Auroran, Week of November 22, 2011, pg 1,8] about future of the Wells Street Public School.

Wells Street Public School, Aurora

The local newspaper reported: ‘Joanne Birch … form Wells Street Schoolhouse Lofts, told The Auroran that the new owners were attracted to the heritage building both for the beauty of the building itself and the opportunity to build in Aurora as a well known community. Aside from the building itself and the Town in which it stands, Ms. Birch said her company was also attracted by additional amenities including the proximity to Yonge Street shopping, GO Transit, and being so close to the idyllic Town Park.’

Good start. Good thinking. A first step to sustainable community living on the Wells Street. We need more builders or developers to think like that.

We have 20 years to build and we also have data from the past to work with. A perfect example is the closing of Foodland store on the St. Andrews plaza on October 29, 2011 and leaving local residents with no other grocery store close by, especially elderly that commute by public transportation.

Foodland, Now Closed, Aurora

If you note my first paragraph, I said sustainable community and not communities. Yes, I want to see in 2031 for the Aurora to be one sustainable community, an integration of sustainable sub-communities or a network of sub-communities. We need to all work together.

The best part comes is how do we achieve this. It will not happen overnight, so we must act now. Even with the Strategic Plan in the horizon, the change must start. We don’t want to start building the sustainable community in 2031, we want to be sustainable community then.

Hollandview Trail, Retirement Community, Aurora

What I have in mind is to introduce (for future developments) more of high-density housings and putting limit on the population growth to secure more green space. I am not asking for sky scrapers, but something that will reduce the residential footprint leaving us with more natural land around.

Some may argue that it may increase traffic on the roads, but not if residents get access to the basic amenities within a walking distance.

For example, a grocery store, a medical/dental office, a restaurant/food court, a bus station, more bike racks, access to walking /hiking /biking paths, all must be part of the residential development project. Stores can easily be build underground as they are above. The idea is not to attract visitors from outside especially those who drive. Residents must have an option to commute to work/school by bus, bike or even walk. Many of them may even work within their living community.

I know, I know – we already have few similar places in Aurora but they are just shops – how many times will I need a wedding gown compare to a bag of milk. Just once in a life time for the gown but – milk every week. You tell me what is more beneficial.

The Ridgewood, Aurora

The message is clear that we need rules, by-laws and plans implemented to build future Aurora sustainable community. It may not be possible with current developed Aurora, but there is still lot of potential land to be developed and I hate to see being carelessly filled.

Got More Than Just A Simple Answer, Developmental Charges

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Wed, 04 May 2011 05:19:00 +0000

While ago I asked question on the Town of Aurora blog. I was waiting and waiting for the answer through the comment subscription. Nothing happened. I expected to get something – but nothing came through. Last night I visited blog again, and I couldn’t believe I received a really good answer and in addition it was a post dedicated to my question. I guess my question wasn’t that stupid after all, and I appreciate all the time went into writing this post.

Nokiidaa Trail Link Construction Fence

I asked: ‘When you say: ‘Ninety per cent of the $500,000 total cost of the project is being funded by development charges.’. Can you elaborate more on the ‘being funded by development charges’? What is the total cost then to Town of Aurora for this project?‘

I will not take over the post, so here is the link to the answer for the question I asked. Read More …