New owners hope to rebuild on former Walker Press site

By Casandra Turnbull

A six-storey residential development is being proposed for the vacant Walker Press Building land on the corner of Yeo Street and Willow Street in Paris. Scott Patterson, representing Patterson Planning Consultants, was before the Brant Heritage Committee on October 5th to present renderings and concept plans for the land, which currently houses the remnants of the Walker Press company, an integral business in Paris for more than 60 years

Patterson Planning Consultants, representing the newest owners of 3 and 7 Yeo Street, presented the plans for the proposed Willow Grove project. It will feature a mixture of one and two-bedroom townhouses in a newly constructed six-storey building To proceed with the project, they will require an Official Plan amendment, permits from the Grand River Conservation Authority and a demolition permit. It was stipulated that prior to a demolition permit application being accepted for the portions of the buildings recognized by the County of Brant Heritage Inventory as having potential cultural heritage significance, that an evaluation be completed to determine potential next steps for Council.

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The Willow Grove building, as it’s been labelled, will have 59 underground and 29 surface parking spaces. The building, if given the green light, will feature six storeys with roof top access for residents. These are renderings provided by Patterson Planning Consultants Inc, who are representing the newest owners.

The delegation was received as information only and must still go before the Planning Committee and Brant County Council.

Willow Grove concept plans show a total of 62 one-bedroom units and 24 two-bedroom units spread out over six storeys. There will be 59 underground parking spaces available, and an additional 29 surface parking spaces. Parking is a hot topic in the county right now, particularly in Paris, and especially with regards to this particular parcel of land

Forge and Foster purchased 150year-old building in 2021 with big plans to turn the vacant building into a multi-use commercial space. They met many challenges over the course of a year while meeting with County planning officials to agree on a site appropriate plan to save the heritage building and transform it into retail space In the end, Council wouldn’t give their stamp of approval for several reasons, the biggest being the lack of parking for the proposed space and the high volume of traffic it would bring to a residential neighbourhood. Forge and Foster sold the building soon after. The Paris Independent will provide more details as they become available.

Lions Club of Paris welcomes its newest member!

The Lions Club of Paris would like to welcome its newest memberItolan (Itee) Obayuwana. Welcoming Itee is Paris Lions Chief Rod Laframboise, RC Ray Derouin and her sponsor Ted Bickell The call for more ‘friends of the Lions’ came at the end of summer as the club geared up for a very busy September and October. Like many service clubs and groups, Covid impacted the club’s membership and with many of the Lions getting older, the Club is asking the community to step forward and help fill some voids. Paris Lions Club held its first meeting close to 100 years ago on March 16, 1931, and since then has been instrumental in supporting many community, provincial and federal initiatives. If you’d like to learn more about the service club or how to become a volunteer, visit www.lionsclubofparis.ca

Paris Lions Club Photo

Brant Eats postponed until 2024, refunds are coming

By Casandra Turnbull

An exciting new culinary experience will have to wait until 2024.

The inaugural Brant Eats Food and Drink event, scheduled to take place in St. George next Friday, October 27th , has been postponed until 2024, organizers announced this week

“We've had to make the difficult decision to postpone Brant Eats due to a lack of vendor participation,” said Sue Morton in an email to the Paris Independent. Morton is Executive Director of the Paris and District Chamber of Commerce, a co-host of the event, along with the St George Business Association

The County of Brant Economic Development was a sponsor of the event, offering the space at the Gaukel Centre

Organizers were hoping to host approximately 30-34 food and beverage vendors, who would serve samples of their products while guests mixed and mingled.

“It's a difficult time for our local food and beverage businesses and the PDCC wants to support them, so we're going to regroup and launch the event in early 2024. Ticket holders will be refunded,” she added.

“Stay tuned for details on the new date. We're counting on the community to come out and support local!” Morton said they are working to refund ticket holders