Skilled Trades Association, CAW Local 199 St. Catharines (General Motors Unit) | ||||||
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End of an era on OntarioBy DOUG HERODSt. Catharines Standard February 27, 2010It's been talked about and hinted at for years, but it's finally happening. The General Motors plants on both sides of Ontario Street will be mothballed by the end of this year. The plants' demise will mark the end of a long and storied era of automotive-related manufacturing in central St. Catharines. Indeed, the proposed new Official Plan has already designated these lands for medium-density residential development. But let's get back to the mothballing. Jennifer Wright, a GM Canada spokeswoman, said both facilities will start to wind down production this summer, a process that will be completed by December. There are about 350 employees working there now. The west side produces output shafts and forges upper control arms for full-sized trucks; the east side has a four-speed transmission line. Wright said the company is working with Local 199 CAW to lessen the impact of those lost positions on employees. That's confirmed by Terry White, the local's GM unit chair, who said attrition and the installation of the new six-speed transmission line at the Glendale plant should cancel out the job losses at Ontario Street. White said the ramp-up is expected to start in early 2011 and the line should be in full run by February or March 2012. Regardless, the closing of the Ontario Street operations will stir memories for generations of workers. "For anybody who worked at Ontario Street, it's a dramatic feeling because that building's been there for more than a hundred years," said White. "Bottom line: If you're an Ontario Street guy you always think of General Motors St. Catharines as being Ontario Street." "It has a huge heritage and we're proud of that heritage," said White. The west-side operations date to 1900 when McKinnon Dash and Metal Works moved to Ontario Street. In 1930, McKinnon Industries, by then a subsidiary of General Motors, opened a facility on the east side of the street. There are 630,000 square feet of plant space on the west side, 637,000 square feet on the east side. They occupy about 43 acres of land. Wright said the company won't start to decommission the facilities until production has completely halted. It's unclear how long the process will take. While Wright said no decisions have been made about the final disposition of the properties, it's not unreasonable to believe GM would eventually like to unload them. Given the size of the properties and their location -- the west side backs on to Twelve Mile Creek, the east side borders the well-established Haig Street residential neighbourhood -- the redevelopment possibilities are intriguing. As noted, the city has already indicated its preference in the proposed new Official Plan. Rick Tapp, an author of the document, said the city was unaware of the plants' imminent closure when preparing the plan. But the OP is intended to take a long-term view, so planners had to consider the preferred land use should GM end its Ontario Street operations. Medium-density residential was their choice. "Again, it's because we're trying to create a more compact city and we require the higher density to meet our targets," said Tapp. That doesn't mean some commercial development can't take place. And who knows? Maybe the east side is a better site for a spectator facility than the low-level parking lot behind St. Paul Street. The potential freeing up of land also raises the possibility of another Twelve Mile Creek crossing by joining up Carlton Street on the east with Grapeview Drive on the west. The West St. Catharines Transportation Study that was presented to city council in May 2006 suggested such a span would ease traffic congestion on existing bridges over the creek. However, one of the reasons GM is unclear about its future plans for the properties is uncertainty over their environmental state. "The responsibility on behalf of General Motors would be to appropriately decommission the facility in accordance with environmental regulations," said Wright. But complying with those regulations doesn't mean meeting the standards for residential development. Presumably, the cost of additional cleanup would have a huge impact on the marketability of the properties. Whatever the eventual outcome, the mothballing of the Ontario Street plants should have a seismic impact on the city's psyche. That said, GM is far from dead in St. Catharines. Wright noted the company "is committed for significant productions of V6 and V8 engines" at the Glendale plant "and we have this great news about the six-speed, front-wheel drive transmission. "So it's still positive news for the organization and for St. Catharines." | ||||||
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