Sydenham-Pearl Project
Sydenham-Pearl Brownfield Redevelopment Project
The Sydenham-Pearl Brownfield site is a 6 acres located in the middle of one of Brantford's oldest neighbourhoods. It consists of two properties - 17 Sydenham Street and 22 Sydenham Street - that back onto the CN rail lines.
17 Sydenham was home to the Crown Electric Manufacturing Company from 1910 until 1991. Crown Electric’s activities included electro-plating of metals, painting, glass staining, and metal cutting and soldering. On May 3, 2004, a tire fire occurred on the site burning down one of the rear buildings. Brantford fire crews were able to contain the fire from spreading to the other buildings on site. However, another fire occurred on the property on Nov 1, 2004. Most of the main building was engulfed by the fire and now requires demolition. With tax arrears amounting to $780,804.99, the City vested the property on Nov 1, 2004 after a failed tax sale. After the securing the site, the City proceeded with a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment to determine the level of contaminants within the property.
22 Sydenham Street is an orphaned brownfield site. The property was used for the manufacture of asphalt shingles from 1907 to 1995. Domtar owned the property from 1962 to 1991, until it was sold to Northern Globe. Northern Globe, which is based in the United States, went bankrupt and the trustee in bankruptcy abandoned the property. The City tried to deal with the property owner, but had no co-operation.
Four fires caused by arson occurred in five years on the site. The most recent fire occurred on May 15th, 2001 where winds directed considerable smoke from the fire through the neighbouring residential area south of the property. The Brantford General Hospital is located a few blocks to the west of the fire site and the City was very fortunate that the winds did not take the smoke in that direction. Following this fire, the Medical Officer of Health issued an order to secure the property and remove all remaining structures. Given the history of the site, the risk of further fires was high and there was no reasonable expectation that the owner of the property would comply with the order, so the City of Brantford agreed to act as the agent for the Medical Officer of Health and carried out the order at a cost of approximately $650,000. The City requested financial assistance from the Ministry of the Environment for 75 per cent of the costs incurred, but was not successful even though the Medical Officer of Health for Brant County deemed that the situation constituted an emergency.
In 2004, the 17 and 22 Sydenham Street properties became part of the Sydenham-Pearl Brownfield site, which the City prioritized for redevelopment.
In 2004, City Staff developed a number of land use concept plans for the properties at 17 and 22 Sydenham Street. In the following months, Councillors of Ward 1 presented the concept plans to the residents surrounding the Sydenham-Pearl sites and these comments were incorporated into further revisions. In May 2005, these were circulated again to surrounding community members for their comments and preferred ranking. As a result: the preferred concept for 22 Sydenham was a mix of single-family and townhouse units, and on 17 Sydenham, residents preferred a residential development of all townhouse units; Robert Moore Park was to remain at its present location.
Staff developed a draft RFP based on the community consultation, and evaluation criteria were based on sustainability factors using the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. The RFP was released in September 2006. Four submissions were received. On April 16, 2007, it was recommended that Council accept the submission by Associated Brownfields for the purchase, remediation and development of the Sydeham-Pearl Brownfield Area. Currently, the project is in the planning application stage for an Official Plan Amendment and zoning bylaw amendment.