All tagged Urban Renewal

Want to Hire Generation Z?

Want to Hire Generation Z?

Andrew Gunn
St Thomas, Ontario's Southwest

Recently our friends at the St. Thomas & District Chamber of Commerce asked us to share our thoughts on how to build a workplace that will appeal to members of Generation Z. We work continuously, and rarely take the time to reflect on what has made our approach effective; further, we have never attempted to communicate what lessons could be gleaned from our experience to assist other businesses. Maddie and Andrew collaborated on the article below, blending our voices to share some insights. The tips for employers have been drawn from our team and conversations with young people locally.

New Mural by Artist Nancy Deleary Now Complete at the St. Thomas Public Library

New Mural by Artist Nancy Deleary Now Complete at the St. Thomas Public Library

Andrew Gunn
St Thomas, Ontario's Southwest

The Track to the Future mural project continues in St. Thomas with the addition of a remarkable new mural by Nancy Deleary, who is an accomplished artist and also a Cultural Coordinator at Chippewas of the Thames First Nation. Completed this month at the St. Thomas Public Library, the artwork highlights the importance of storytelling, and will captivate the next generation of children who gather to read books and listen to speakers in the outdoor reading garden.

Discovering Downtown St. Thomas

Discovering Downtown St. Thomas

Andrew Gunn
St Thomas

Right now, there are two fun ways to discover downtown St. Thomas. First, the simple method … walk the neighbourhood, check out the shops and restaurants, and get a sense of the people living and working there. Second, the mysterious approach … wander the area, absorb the artwork and historical notes, and watch and listen for clues about the past and future of the community. Both options are available to residents and visitors, and we have done a bit of each recently!

Top Ten Hidden Gems in St. Thomas

Top Ten Hidden Gems in St. Thomas

Andrew Gunn
St Thomas, Ontario's Southwest

Our team at young & free devotes a lot of energy to highlighting our favourite St. Thomas attractions. Some landmarks seem to have resonated in the public imagination over the years – the Jumbo monument, Pinafore Park, and the Horton Farmers’ Market, and more recently the murals downtown and the St. Thomas Elevated Park – while we find ourselves still encouraging people to take a closer look at other unique assets in the community. So, we thought that we should assemble our list of ‘Top Ten Hidden Gems in St. Thomas’ – our list actually swelled to more than twenty, which means that we might need to put together a sequel!

Track to the Future

Track to the Future

Andrew Gunn
St Thomas, Ontario's Southwest

Look closely at St. Thomas and the signals are clear … the community is in the process of a great reinvention. Known as ‘The Railway City’, the nickname holds, if only as a historical point of reference and an indication of how assets from that early industry are being repurposed now.

Reinventing St. Thomas

Reinventing St. Thomas

Andrew Gunn
St Thomas

City-building requires vision, funding and resiliency. All three elements need to come together continuously, especially in communities where one, two or all three have been lacking for years and the cultural atmosphere has dissipated. How do we know if a city is building toward something positive or negative? The story is there in every block, neighbourhood, and commercial district.

Covent Garden Market and TVDSB Collaborate on New Outdoor "ARt" Project!

Covent Garden Market and TVDSB Collaborate on New Outdoor "ARt" Project!

Andrew Gunn
London, Ontario's Southwest

Professional mural artists are set to work with local Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) students to paint a series of picnic tables for Covent Garden Market in downtown London! Over the next six weeks, London-based artists Evond Blake (MEDIAH) and Hawlii Pichette will paint one table each, and guide elementary and secondary school students to paint six others. The tables will be returned and placed outdoors at the Market this spring. As an innovative twist, London-based EXAR Studios has been engaged to build an augmented reality (AR) experience for the setting, bringing to life elements of the picnic table-top designs in their AR app Engage ARt!

New Murals to Celebrate Urban & Rural Life in Downtown Simcoe

New Murals to Celebrate Urban & Rural Life in Downtown Simcoe

Andrew Gunn
Norfolk County, Ontario's Southwest

Artists are set to begin transforming downtown Simcoe with a new series of vibrant murals that celebrate the distinctive intersection of urban and rural life in Norfolk County. Coordinated by the Downtown Simcoe BIA and curated by Andrew Gunn Consulting and young & free press in collaboration with local partners, three murals are planned for the downtown area in the coming months with plans to expand the project around the community.

Call for Artists at Riversyde 83 in Downtown Simcoe

Call for Artists at Riversyde 83 in Downtown Simcoe

Andrew Gunn
Norfolk County, Ontario's Southwest

Riversyde 83 is a new food and community hub set to open in summer 2021 in downtown Simcoe in Norfolk County. Located at 83 Sydenham Street, the building will feature a marketplace, café, teaching kitchen, event spaces and an outdoor garden. Artist Meaghan Claire Kehoe will be painting a spectacular new mural on the south side of the building first thing in the spring, and we are excited to offer this call for artists to paint a mural on the north side of the building, too!

New Lights & Artwork Enhance the St. Thomas Elevated Park

New Lights & Artwork Enhance the St. Thomas Elevated Park

Andrew Gunn
St Thomas, Ontario's Southwest

The St. Thomas Elevated Park has become one of the top tourism destinations in southwestern Ontario, and the experience of visiting this walkway in the sky is about to become even more memorable!

Earlier this year, our team at young & free press announced a major donation from the Estate of Donna Bushell to support enhancements to the Elevated Park, including grass, electricity and path lighting. Now, we are excited to announce that the Bushell Estate will also fund a massive new mural at the base of the bridge on one of the concrete piers located between Sunset Road and Fingal Line.

To be designed and executed by renowned mural artist Daniel Bombardier, who goes by the name Denial, the mural will measure some 85 feet high by 40 feet wide at the base. This work of art is part of the ongoing ‘Track to the Future’ project coordinated by the St. Thomas Economic Development Corporation and Railway City Tourism, and will add to the growing collection of stunning murals around St. Thomas.

Addressing Homelessness in London & St. Thomas

Addressing Homelessness in London & St. Thomas

Sophie Mutch
London, St Thomas, Elgin County

Walking around London and St. Thomas, homelessness is obvious. In London, there are many people living and sleeping rough along Dundas Street downtown and in Old East Village, or in tents by railway tracks and elsewhere. Business owners and residents in St. Thomas have noticed more people congregating and sleeping downtown, particularly around the post office, next door to where the City set up a drop-in centre for the homeless or near-homeless. The issue has been made worse by the pandemic, and this winter is going to prove challenging.

Murals in Market Lane! Welcome to the Forest City Playground

Murals in Market Lane! Welcome to the Forest City Playground

Andrew Gunn
London, Ontario's Southwest

Three artists – Stephanie Boutari, Hawlii Pichette, and Meaghan Claire Kehoe – have been given the challenge of painting murals on the exterior wall of the WIL Employment Connections building in Market Lane in downtown London. The murals will emphasize the Carolinian Forest zone and ask viewers to consider the role of human beings in shaping the culture of our cities within the wider ecosystem.

Emily and Ella Explore St. Thomas

Emily and Ella Explore St. Thomas

Emily Stage
St Thomas

Throughout this pandemic we have come to know the feeling of nearly losing our minds because we are unable to be around others. This has given us time to dream about creating places where we can gather. Quarantine is so boring, but gradually we will be able to return to public spaces. Looking at St. Thomas specifically, how can we really make our city a wonderful, welcoming place once we are finally set free? There are so many exciting possibilities!

Supporting the St. Thomas Elevated Park and Launching the New ‘Art, Trees & Trails’ Project

Supporting the St. Thomas Elevated Park and Launching the New ‘Art, Trees & Trails’ Project

Andrew Gunn
St Thomas, Elgin County, Ontario's Southwest

Andrew Gunn and Maddie King of young & free press are acting as consultants on the Estate of Donna Vera Evans Bushell. On Wednesday, June 10, we announced a donation of $100,000 to enhance the St. Thomas Elevated Park, as well as $115,000 to support the launch of the new ‘Art, Trees & Trails’ project in collaboration with the St. Thomas Elgin Public Art Centre. Another $100,000 has been given to the Elgin St. Thomas Community Foundation to establish the ‘Evans Tree Fund’, which will support tree-planting in the community for decades to come.

How Should We Design Parks for a Pandemic?

How Should We Design Parks for a Pandemic?

Madison Comfort
London

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, parks and green-spaces have provided people the opportunity to seek some fresh air and a change of scenery. Our daily routines have changed drastically. With little information on when the pandemic will end, our need for parks and green-spaces will continue to grow. This raises the question: how could parks be better-designed to be adaptable and sustainable, even during a pandemic?

What We've Learned About Downtown Simcoe & Norfolk County

What We've Learned About Downtown Simcoe & Norfolk County

Andrew Gunn
Norfolk County

Every downtown feels open or closed. This may be an abstract statement, but listen to the people who frequent the area or live nearby – the way that individuals talk about a downtown space will tell you right away whether the area is considered open or closed. In this context, we use ‘open’ to mean welcoming, inviting, surprising, attractive and distinctive; by contrast, the word ‘closed’ is short-hand for detached, cold, boring, run-down and unexceptional.