HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1999-03-03, Page 2424
Exeter Timw.Aiwcaes
Wednesday, March 3, 1999
Business
Ont. Development Corporation satisfied with Huron Park
By Scott Nixon
TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF
.
1 ORONTO
According to the people
in charge of Huron
Park, the park k s thriv-
ing.
Thirty years after the
Centralia RCAF Station
closed and the 767 -acre
site was transformed
into Huron Park by the
Ontario Development
Corporation (ODC), the
park now holds, accord-
ing to property manager
Robert Matteo, 27 sub-
stantial businesses and
five smaller businesses.
Matteo estimates close
to 500 people are
employed at Huron
Park.
With only five per cent
vacancy in the park's
commercial side and 2-3
per cent vacancy in the
residential side, ODC
director of operations
Peter Spik said, "I'm
delighted with tate
park's performance."
ODC' owns and man-
ages the park on behalf
of the province and leas-
es the buildings out to
businesses.
Matteo said the park is
doing well despite one
clear disadvantage —
location.
Many businesses,
Matteo-said, prefer to be
close to the 401, where
.they can save on truck-
ing costs. And while
Huron Park can offer
businesses, according to
Matteo, a "captive sup-
ply of labour" and lower
taxes than areas close to
the 401, some major
corporations can't be
tempted to move to
Huron Park.
Still, because Huron
Park was an air forces
base, its
large build-
ings are
beneficial
to compa-
nies like the
Bluewater
Recycling
Association,
Saf-T-Cab
and PH
Composites, all of which
need large areas. And
Matteo added some
businesses are attracted
to Huron Park because,
although they prefer to
be ;closer to the 401,
London isn't that far.
Matteo remarked the
success of the park fluc-
tuates with the highs
and lows of the real
estate markets. He said
the park's peak in occu-
pancy and success was
when Centralia College
was open.
When the school
closed in 1994 it hurt
business and the park
still hasn't fully recov-
ered, according to
Matteo.
He said the most diffi-
cult buildings to keep
occupied are Bruce Hall
(which is now vacant)
and Huron and
Middlesex Halls, which
include classrooms and
residences.
In addition to industry
at Huron Park, the ODC
owns the park's houses,
which used to be the
homes of RCAF person -
'he houses,
Jut 45 years
,id, are leased
out to residents
and maintained
by the ODC.
Matteo said the
ODC is constant-
, ly renovating the
homes, adding
new furnaces, roofs,
walls and siding. There
are over 300 houses in
the park and Matteo
described them as being
in good shape.
The airport at Huron
Park is doing well,
according to Matteo,
with Crown Phoenix
Aviation moving into
Huron Park in February,
1998 and experiencing
steady growth.
Other core tenants in
Huron Park are the
Bluewater Recycling
Association, Markel
Training System, PH
Composite and Exeter
Machine Products
(EMP). EMP, Matteo
said, is an example of a
company that was strug-
gling a few years ago
"I'm delighted
with the park's
performance."
— PETER SP1K
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE ONTARIO
DEVELOPMENT
CORPORATION
•
but has recovered.
Matteo, who works out
of Toronto, visits the
park about twice a week
and is responsible for
budgets, lease agree-
ments and dealing with
complaints from resi-
dents.
He said his 10 years at
the park have been
challenging and inter-
esting because he has
had to deal with differ-
ent types of companies
and be creative with
leases.
And• while there is
some vacancy in the
park, Matteo said the
•
ODC typically doesn't
advertise. Instead, most
clients come to the park
through referrals.
Matteo credits the staff
of 12 at the ODC in
lluron Park who operate
theapark daily,
Spik has been director
of operations for the
ODC for two years,
although he only recent-
ly became involved with
Huron Park. He said the
ODC has gradually been
winding down opera-
tions since 1996 and has
gone from a staff of 200
down to 20.
He said the govern -
Ment still hasn't decided
what to do with its
industrial parks :(the
ODC also operates the
Ottawa Life Science
Technology Park) but
Spik said for „ow it's
business as usual for
Fluron Park.
See next week's T -A
Cor more on Huron
Park and its business-
es
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Directory
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REPAIRS
•
Huron Park now has a five per cent vacancy rate in its
industrial sector. Property manager Robert Matteo
said the park still hasn't fully recovered from the dos-
ing of Centralia College in 1994.
Chamber of Commerceelects directors at first meeting
By Scott Nixon
TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF
EXETER — It's official
— Exeter now has a
Chamber of Commerce.
The Exeter and District
Chamber of Commerce
held its first meeting
Feb. 23 at the Ranch
House Inn and elected its
directors.
Elected as the
Chamber's directors
were: Hugh McMaster,
F r a, n k
Zawalsky, Bill
Dinney, Karen,
13 r o w n ,
Richard
Marier., Ellen
Holland,
Marianne
Benson, Karin
Zehetner, George
Godbolt, Paul Ciufo, Tom
Burke and Tony DeBoer.
The directors will elect
the Chamber's executive
committee at a future
meeting. ,
The Chamber's inau-
gural meeting officially
ended the duties of the
steering committee,
which was formed in
October. Hugh
McMaster, president of
the steering committee,
said the committee's
work had "progressed
very, very well," and
said the Chamber's two
main objectives over the
next year will be to mar-
ket the image of Exeter
and to form an industrial
committee to promote
industry in the area.
Chairman of the
finance committee Bill
Dinney said the Chamber
now has 37 paid mem-
bers, with 15 more say-
ing they will join. He
predicted the Chamber
will have 100 members
by the end of the year
and said there should
eventually be
200 members.
Paul Ciufo,
chairman of
the member-
ship commit-
tee, called the
Chamber "an
incredible
vehicle" for Exeter and
area businesses to build
a camaraderie. He said
the Chamber will pro-
mote businesses and
help businesses better
serve customers.
"We have a lot to offer
our members," Ciufo
said, explaining that
membership gives mem-
bers a free profile on the
town's web site, low
merchant credit card
rates and access to
employee benefit pack-
ages.
Tourism chairman
Richard Marier said the
Chamber has asked the
"We have a tot to
offer our
members"
— PAUL CIUFO
CHAIRMAN OF
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE
Rodeo Committee if it
can be involved in the
rodeo parade to make it
"bigger and better".
The Chamber is also
interested in setting up a
booth at the
International Plowing
Match to promote Exeter
and the white squirrel.
He also said a banner
placed across Main
Street will give business-
es the chance to adver-
tise.
Exeter businessman
Doug Ellison, who said
he is not yet a Chamber
member, challenged the
Chamber's directors to
distinguish themselves
from the Exeter Business
Association. He said
many businesspeople in
Exeter can't see the dif-
ference between the EBA
and the Chamber and
therefore are hesitant to
pay for a Chamber mem-
bership.
McMaster explained to
Ellison that the EBA is
chiefly interested in the
beautification of Exeter,
while the Chamber has
broader goals, including
tourism, industry and
the promotion of busi-
ness.
Ellison questioned the
need for having an EBA
and a Chamber and said
both organizations will
have to co-operate with
each other or risk being
in conflict.
He added many people
have the impression the
Chamber was formed out
of dissatisfaction with
the EBA. The Chamber's
directors disagreed.
Director Karen Brown
explained that being a
member of the Chamber
can do things for her
business — such as the
credit card discounts —
that the EBA "can't.
Ellison stressed the
Chamber has to get town
council's support and the
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The Chamber's direc-
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