Anglais
Port Lands businesses welcome development to ‘underused’ Toronto waterfront

[ad_1]
When it comes to Sidewalk Lab’s contentious plans to develop Toronto’s Port Lands, Trevor Welsh has no axe to grind. But he does have one to throw.
The 40-year-old general manager of BATL Toronto — an axe throwing facility on Villiers St. — says improving the Port Lands with public transit, businesses, neighbourhoods and attractions will boost reasons for people to visit the area.
Reasons that might include, oh, say, hurling a hatchet at a wooden bull’s-eye.
“The more, the merrier,” said Welsh, as about 100 throwers and fans cheered each time a tossed axe hit targets dead-centre during a Canada-U.S. friendly competition Saturday.
“There’s not really a lot down here right now in terms of business (and) it’s a big pain to get here by public transit, especially for my staff,” he continued.
Welsh said he didn’t know much about the Port Lands until five years ago when BATL Toronto expanded to its second location at 33 Villiers St., near Cherry and Commissioners Sts. He said he was shocked how few businesses existed in the enormous area.
“I’m like, ‘Where am I?, ” he laughed, recalling his first impression of the Port Lands as a “ghost town.”
However, he said the axe throwing crowd soon got to know a few great neighbours; the Keating Channel Pub and Grill around the corner and the Cherry Street BBQ.
Lawrence LaPianta owns the Cherry Street BBQ. He says plans to develop the Port Lands, regardless of how that revitalization occurs or who gets to engineer it, should not be feared.
“I think it’s been underused, underappreciated land in Toronto for a very long time,” said LaPianta. “It’s prime real estate right next to the water. It’s kind of unfortunate that we don’t have anything to show for it in this area.”
Compared to other parts of the city, the land does seem underused — especially at this time of year when huge lake freighters cannot nose into busy ports to deliver cargo. But there are full-time operations, big and small, government and private, running 12 months of the year.
Commissioners St., for instance, is home to Toronto Hydro headquarters, the 12-stage Pinewood Studios and a FedEx office. Cement trucks are frequent Commissioners St. travellers, loading and unloading at aggregate depots and cement companies. Waste management sites sit on Unwin Ave.’s north side.
Summer brings more people to the area, cramming Cherry Beach with swimmers, picnickers, dog walkers, cyclists and stroller pushers.
The Cherry Beach outdoor sports fields, closed for the winter, are usually busy with soccer, lacrosse, ultimate frisbee teams beginning in spring. That’s also when sailors start cleaning and launching their crafts from the water’s edge.
Rebel Night Club on Polson St. attracts crowds locally and from across the border.
Mary Ormsby is a reporter and feature writer based in Toronto. Reach her via email: mormsby@thestar.ca
[ad_2]
Source link
Anglais
‘Business as usual’ for Dorel Industries after terminating go-private deal

MONTREAL — Dorel Industries Inc. says it will continue to pursue its business strategy going forward after terminating an agreement to go private after discussions with shareholders.
« Moving ahead. Business as usual, » a spokesman for the company said in an email on Monday.
A group led by Cerberus Capital Management had previously agreed to buy outstanding shares of Dorel for $16 apiece, except for shares owned by the family that controls the company’s multiple-voting shares.
But Dorel chief executive Martin Schwartz said the Montreal-based maker of car seats, strollers, bicycles and home furniture pulled the plug on a deal on the eve of Tuesday’s special meeting after reviewing votes from shareholders.
“Independent shareholders have clearly expressed their confidence in Dorel’s future and the greater potential for Dorel as a public entity, » he said in a news release.
Dorel’s board of directors, with Martin Schwartz, Alan Schwartz, Jeffrey Schwartz and Jeff Segel recused, unanimously approved the deal’s termination upon the recommendation of a special committee.
The transaction required approval by two-thirds of the votes cast, and more than 50 per cent of the votes cast by non-family shareholders.
Schwartz said enhancing shareholder value remains a top priority while it stays focused on growing its brands, which include Schwinn and Mongoose bikes, Safety 1st-brand car seats and DHP Furniture.
Dorel said the move to end the go-private deal was mutual, despite the funds’ increased purchase price offer earlier this year.
It said there is no break fee applicable in this case.
Montreal-based investment firm Letko, Brosseau & Associates Inc. and San Diego’s Brandes Investment Partners LP, which together control more than 19 per cent of Dorel’s outstanding class B subordinate shares voiced their opposition to the amended offer, which was increased from the initial Nov. 2 offer of $14.50 per share.
« We believe that several minority shareholders shared our opinion, » said Letko vice-president Stephane Lebrun, during a phone interview.
« We are confident of the long-term potential of the company and we have confidence in the managers in place.”

Anglais
Pandemic funds helping Montreal businesses build for a better tomorrow

Many entrepreneurs have had to tap into government loans during the pandemic, at first just to survive, but now some are using the money to better prepare their businesses for the post-COVID future.
One of those businesses is Del Friscos, a popular family restaurant in Dollard-des-Ormeaux that, like many Montreal-area restaurants, has had to adapt from a sit-down establishment to one that takes orders online for takeout or delivery.
“It was hard going from totally in-house seating,” said Del Friscos co-owner Terry Konstas. “We didn’t have an in-house delivery system, which we quickly added. There were so many of our employees that were laid off that wanted to work so we adapted to a delivery system and added platforms like Uber and DoorDash.”
Helping them through the transition were emergency grants and low-interest loans from the federal and provincial governments, some of which are directly administered by PME MTL, a non-profit business-development organization established to assist the island’s small and medium-sized businesses.
Konstas said he had never even heard of PME MTL until a customer told him about them and when he got in touch, he discovered there were many government programs available to help his business get through the downturn and build for the future. “They’ve been very helpful right from day one,” said Konstas.
“We used some of the funds to catch up on our suppliers and our rents, the part that wasn’t covered from the federal side, and we used some of it for our new virtual concepts,” he said, referring to a virtual kitchen model which the restaurant has since adopted.
The virtual kitchen lets them create completely different menu items from the casual American Italian dishes that Del Friscos is known for and market them under different restaurant brand names. Under the Prasinó Soup & Salad banner, they sell healthy Greek options and their Stallone’s Sub Shop brand offers hearty sandwiches, yet the food from both is created in the same Del Friscos kitchen.

Anglais
Downtown Montreal office, retail vacancies continue to rise

Some of downtown Montreal’s key economic indicators are heading in the wrong direction.
Office and retail vacancies in the city’s central core continued to climb in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to a quarterly report released Thursday by the Urban Development Institute of Quebec and the Montréal Centre-Ville merchants association. The report, whose first edition was published in October, aims to paint a socio-economic picture of the downtown area.
The survey also found office space available for sublet had increased during the fourth quarter, which may foreshadow even more vacancies when leases expire. On the residential front, condo sales fell as new listings soared — a sign that the downtown area may be losing some of its appeal to homeowners.
“It’s impossible not to be preoccupied by the rapid increase in office vacancies,” Jean-Marc Fournier, the former Quebec politician who now heads the UDI, said Thursday in an interview.
Still, with COVID-19 vaccinations set to accelerate in the coming months, “the economic picture is bound to improve,” he said. “People will start returning downtown. It’s much too early to say the office market is going to disappear.”
Public health measures implemented since the start of the pandemic almost a year ago — such as caps on office capacity — have deprived downtown Montreal of more than 500,000 workers and students. A mere 4,163 university and CEGEP students attended in-person classes in the second quarter, the most recent period for which figures are available. Border closures and travel restrictions have also brought tourism to a standstill, hurting hotels and thousands of local businesses.
Seventy per cent of downtown workers carried out their professional activities at home more than three days a week during the fourth quarter, the report said, citing an online survey of 1,000 Montreal-area residents conducted last month.

-
Anglais2 années ago
Body found after downtown Lethbridge apartment building fire, police investigating – Lethbridge
-
Styles De Vie2 années ago
Salon du chocolat 2018: les 5 temps forts
-
Anglais2 années ago
This B.C. woman’s recipe is one of the most popular of all time — and the story behind it is bananas
-
Santé Et Nutrition2 années ago
Gluten-Free Muffins
-
Anglais2 années ago
27 CP Rail cars derail near Lake Louise, Alta.
-
Anglais2 années ago
Man facing eviction from family home on Toronto Islands gets reprieve — for now
-
Santé Et Nutrition2 années ago
We Try Kin Euphorics and How to REALLY Get the Glow | Healthyish
-
Anglais2 années ago
Ontario’s Tories hope Ryan Gosling video will keep supporters from breaking up with the party