Saturday, June 14, 2003
Frank Armstrong and Annette Phillips
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The Kingston Whig-Standard
Trying to stem the exodus of high-tech firms from Kingston, a city committee has approved rezoning necessary to create a new home for the businesses in the west end. The planning committee approved rezoning of property around Norman Rogers Airport to allow what's being called a "prestige business park" to be built.
On Thursday, politicians on the planning committee were shown artist's renderings of the 11-hectare site, which would provide a new home for the growing biomedical company Millenium Biologix. The committee approved rezoning of the property from a mixture of residential and light industrial to a class called prestige industrial. Politicians were won over after developers and neighbours agreed on some basic elements of the project, said committee member Councillor Don Rogers. Residents who live across Front Road from the proposed development were upset when they heard about the plans, but preliminary drawings and assurances from developers that the business park will have an elegant appearance have satisfied objectors. "I was pleased," Rogers said. "There obviously had been consultation with residents in the neighbourhood ... and most of the residents appeared to be satisfied."
Steve Kelly, president and CEO of Kingston Economic Development Corp., facilitated meetings with residents, who were concerned the site would turn into an ugly, big-box industrial park. That will not be allowed to happen, Kelly said, in an interview. "The plan is to develop ... a business park concept that has a high level of quality to it and a lot of consideration for the natural environment that we have here," Kelly said. "We knew they would be concerned about big, steel, grey, generic warehouses and so was the potential client on the site," added Andrew Dobson, the owner of Design At Large Inc. and the project co-coordinator.
Buildings on the site will be low, long and unobtrusive and will be built into the contours of the land, which slopes about six metres from the airport down to Front Road. People at the airport will still be able to see the water over and through the buildings. Roofs capping the buildings' wings will be grassed over to blend in to the natural environment, while the fronts will be glass and the interiors will be constructed of steel, limestone and concrete so that the building will act as an energy absorber. In winter, the building will absorb and store heat, while wind blowing off the lake in the summer will cool it.
Millenium, which develops and supplies products for repairing and replacing bone and skeletal tissue, will need to move into the building within the next two to three years, said vice-president Tim Smith. The company employs 40 people in Toronto, Zurich and Midpark Drive in Kingston. Millenium launched new products this year and expects to add more next year as the workforce expands by up to five times its current size. "We want to make sure we have the flexibility to grow here in Kingston," Smith said. The west-end site is particularly attractive because of its proximity to the airport, its view of the lake, and the opportunity to create some really interesting architecture, Smith said. It will also offer a tempting venue for other world-class companies to move to, he said. "We would like to be part of a cluster of new enterprises in that location," he said.
The developer and lead investor will be Kincore Holdings, a firm known primarily for its restoration of heritage buildings in the downtown core. Kim Donovan, Kincore president, said he shares Kelly's view that a high-quality, prestige business park is needed to stop high-tech firms from leaving the community. Kincore's initial investment, which includes land leases with the city and building the facility, will be at least $5 million, Donovan said. In return, Kincore is asking the city for the exclusive right to develop other properties in the new business park. Donovan's concerns are the same as those of the neighbourhood residents - that less visually appealing buildings could spring up next to Millenium. Kincore has asked the city for a set of design guidelines, the same request put forward by the citizens who objected to the rezoning application. Under those guidelines, other companies will be required to build up to the standard of Millenium. "We have to protect our investment," Donovan said.
Councillors have not yet looked at the exclusivity agreement, but Rogers said the city must entertain the idea. "The viability of this project could be affected by what's done next door," Rogers said. "I have some confidence in Kim Donovan and Kincore as developers. They have certainly established their credentials as a responsible developer and it's certainly something I'm prepared to look at."
Two years ago, biotech firm Cytochroma Inc., a Queen's-born company searching for new treatments for leukemia, skin diseases and a variety of carcinomas, including prostate and breast cancer, announced it was leaving Kingston. Company officials cited a shortage of available space. In 1996, Neurochem Inc., which is working on a treatment for Alzheimer's disease, moved to Montreal when financing became available there.
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City Planners Pave Way for High-Tech Park in West End |
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