Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

  Downtown Market Wharf  is now  under construction -- But first --  a massive train barrier ad to be built By Stephen Weir                                                        Published in the Toronto Sun  September 23rd nd 25th Putting off that downtown Toronto condo purchase because you suffer from Siderodromophobia (irrational dread of trains)? One project in the St Lawrence Market District will allay that fear: The Market Wharf condominium complex, currently under construction, has installed a steel reinforced concrete barrier wall to stop any runaway Go trains! Market Wharf is a multi-level condominium tower project at Jarvis and The Esplanade, just south of the back-end of the St Lawrence Market. Plan...

Sidebar #1 Just the Facts There will be approximately 475 separate living spaces within Market Wharf, with an expected population of close to 1,000 people all living in one city block. There will be 4 different styles of units built. It depends on where the units are within the tower and podium. The four styles are: • Market Flats – being built on the low rise brick podium on Floors 2-5), no balconies, typically smaller units. 77 in total • Townhomes are atop the podium on the 6th floor and are two storeys and have their own “back yard” terrace (some have balconies facing the St Lawrence Market as well). 34 in total. • Watersuites are all single storey units in the tower and are named as such since they all will have water views of the lake. Approximately 355 in total. • Penthouses. 2-storey glass walled penthouses. Top two floors are shaped like a peanut. Up to 10 units available. As of November  15, over 85% of the units have been sold The project’s website is http://...

YOU CAN TAKE THE BOY OUT OF  RENFREW BUT ...      George Heath, a former Renfrew resident and a keen follower of www.stephenweir.com, sent me a clipping announcing the January closure of the H. Imbleau & Sons Foundry in Renfrew. George's wife Marie is a member of the Imbleau family. The company, founded in 1858, is the town's longest running business. For over 150 years the factory has put the Renfrew name on the map ... literally. One of the company's most successful products is manhole covers. When I received George's note about the closure, I wrote him a quick letter, reprinted below, which tells my story of the impression the foundry had on me in the early 70's while a student at Windsor University.   Back in my days at Windsor University I worked a variety of part-time jobs so that I would not have to move back to Renfrew and work in the mines at Haley's Station in the summer. One of my steady gigs was in the student pub, which was held in the ...

Sidebar #1   Just the Facts About Market Wharf Condos There will be approximately 475 separate living spaces within Market Wharf, with an expected population of close to 1,000 people all living in one city block. There will be 4 different styles of units built. It depends on where the units are within the tower and podium. The four styles are: Market Flats – being built on the low rise brick podium on Floors 2-5), no balconies, typically smaller units.  77 in total   Two storey Townhomes are atop the podium on the 6 th floor and are two storeys and have their own “back yard” terrace (some have balconies facing the St Lawrence Market as well).  34 in total. ·       Watersuites are all single storey units in the tower and are named as such since they all will have water views of the lake.  Approximately 355 in total. ·       Penthouses. 2-storey glass walled penthouses. Top two floors are shaped like a peanut...

Artist's drawing of proposed Shark tank and glass walkway Canada’s Biggest City Building Canada’s Biggest Aquarium By Stephen Weir   Believe It or Not Toronto is finally going to have an aquarium. Work has already begun on a new building at the base of the world famous CN Tower.  Even though it will be two years before the first Sand Tiger Shark and Carpenter Shark  (sawfish) move into Shark Lagoon , three levels of government have already laid out the welcome mat for Ripley Entertainment, the owners of the future aquarium which is scheduled to open in 2013. At a late August press conference Canadian entrepreneurs, Jim Pattison Senior and Junior, officially launched the construction project.  The Jim Pattison Group, one of the country’s largest private companies, owns Ripley Entertainment (Ripley’s Believe It or Not), and operates aquariums in both Tennessee and South Carolina.   The new Toronto aquarium project has strong financial support and redevelo...

CUE THE FISH :  - Aquarium is all about fish, but, who are the stars in 45 different display tanks? notes for a news article that will appear in the next edition of Diver Magazine.  Sand Tiger Sharks thrive in captivity. Toronto Aquarium will feature the species. Photo - North Carolina. sweir files.  For now the  aquarium isn't releasing much information about what it will be showing inside.  Ripleys' Vice President Joe Chromanski told Diver they will be releaseing information closer to the opening date. " We don't want to steal our own thunder," he said.  " I can say that we will have up to 45 different tanks inside  - the largest is the 750,000 galleon shark tank, the smallest will be a 6 to 10 galleon space for baby seahorses." "In the Great Lakes (tank) we will have a cross section of what divers are likely to see  - everything from pike to paddle fish,"said Chromanski."  Paddle fish aren't in the Great Lakes but we do f...