Company ranks Hamilton No. 1 in Ontario again

Hamilton has secured its title as the No. 1 city to invest in Ontario.

The Real Estate Investment Network of Canada (REIN) said Tuesday the city remains the top location across the province for investment for the second consecutive year. REIN is a Canadian business that provides resources and information to its 2,700-plus members regarding real estate investment.

The detailed investment report identifies cities, towns and regions poised to outperform other regions of the province over the next five years.

Kitchener and Cambridge placed second with Waterloo landing third.

“It’s well-deserved,” said Neil Everson, Hamilton’s economic development division director.

“But it’s not surprising. We’ve had a perfect year.”

Hamilton’s growth spans all industries and it’s difficult to pinpoint an area of success, says Everson.

An indicator is the record Hamilton is setting when it comes to building permit values. Hamilton posted $562 million by the end of the second quarter.

In Mississauga, permits totalled $385 million for the same period.

He points to the city’s industrial vacancy rates which have now dropped to 2.3 per cent, a 26 per cent drop from last quarter.

“Buildings are being filled and companies are leasing those vacant spaces.”

The report takes into account a series of criteria including population growth and income, economics, housing trends, vacancy rates and infrastructure.

“Hamilton’s reputation from the outside is a little sullied,” said REIN founding partner Don Campbell. “It’s not a steel town. While steel is still a player, high tech and young professionals are redefining the city.”

Campbell references the downtown core, which continues to attract businesses and residents.

The area is home to more than 1,600 businesses which employ roughly 23,400 people.

Campbell says he’s blown away by the work of Hamilton’s economic development department and its efforts to attract jobs back into the city.

“They are on the forefront of Ontario for growth,” he says.

Campbell feels it’s imperative for those who come to Hamilton for their education to stay and work in the city.

“If you want to attract young professionals, you need to provide the infrastructure they want,” says Campbell.

“Part of that is a lively and safe downtown and a really good transit system. Light rapid transit needs to occur and it needs to happen quickly,” he suggests.

Article courtesy The Hamilton Spectator.

Local developer plans to clean up land, build industrial subdivision.

Just think … if you lived and worked in downtown Hamilton you could be at the office in the time it takes to read this page.

Hamilton’s economic development department is pitching that idea with a short video it has cast into the Internet ether in the hope of catching the attention of creative industries looking for a new home.

Urban renewal manager Glen Norton said the short film was created by Hamilton-based Chuck Gammage Animation, with music by local composer Nathan Fleet.

Its story tells the tale of a hapless worker who has to leave his bed at 4:30 every morning to fight his way into a job in Toronto — until he discovers the joys of a location in Hamilton.

“We’re targeting anybody who commutes to Toronto,” Norton said. “We’re telling them we have the lifestyle and a great community to go with it.”

The film, generally targeted at creative industry workers, was released through a Hamilton Economic Development blog post Wednesday. How quickly and how far it spreads is up to the people who watch it.

“We’re putting it out using the means that these people use to talk to each other,” Norton said. “From here on what happens to it is up to the individual because this is all we’re going to do with it.”

Norton added the cartoon was produced on a shoestring budget, with both local firms contributing more than what the available budget would usually purchase.

“I’m really proud that this is from a Hamilton firm,” he said.

That’s also an important factor to Michael Marini, marketing co-ordinator for the economic development department.

“I think it’s a great piece not only because of the creative talent behind it (both from Chuck and from Nathan), but that we’re actually using Hamilton firms to tell a Hamilton story. To me that’s key,” he said in an email exchange. “We don’t need to shop out this work to Toronto, we have all the talent we need, and more, in Hamilton.”

Article courtesy of the Hamilton Spectator.

Addison Forret and his family drove all the way from Stouffville to wait in an hour-long line just for a grilled cheese sandwich.

The Forrets love food trucks — they plan family vacations around the Food Network show Eat Street. So when they heard host James Cunningham would be in Hamilton Sunday to feature the Gorilla Cheese truck, they knew they had to make the trek.

“Yup, it was worth it,” Forret grinned, digesting on a bench in the park.

Eat Street is produced in Canada but typically focuses on American food trucks. In Canada, trucks more often run into climate and bylaw restrictions, Cunningham said.

The Toronto-born Food Network star kicked off his comedy career at Yuk Yuk’s in downtown Hamilton, he said, so he was excited to be back for the shoot.

“We love our Canadian trucks … this is a really, really positive thing (for the city). Trucks bring gourmet food to the streets at affordable prices,” he said.

Gorilla Cheese won its segment on Eat Street through the show’s online video contest.

“And first of all, I love grilled cheese. They do what they do really well and they do it in a pretty cool way. And they create excitement … look at all these families out,” Cunningham said.

Sunday’s filming (the episode won’t air for a few months) lined up perfectly with Gorilla Cheese’s one-year anniversary on Saturday.

“Of all the things in the past year, winning Lion’s Lair and winning tourism awards, changing the bylaws in Hamilton was probably our biggest achievement,” said Graeme Smith, co-owner of Gorilla Cheese.

And its Food Network debut this year is a pretty good way to start off year two.

“It’s awesome, it’s important on quite a few levels. I mean, it will be great to be showcased in 40 countries,” he said. “But the most important thing is that we were voted in by all these people.”

Article courtesy of the Hamilton Spectator.

Photography, swimming, cleaning and landscaping are just four of the avenues young entrepreneurs have chosen for their summer business through the provincially-funded program, Summer Company.

“They’ve taken a hobby they have an interest in and turned it into a business,” said Dragica Lebo, the co-ordinator for Summer Company. “Most want to work for themselves rather than someone else.”

The Hamilton program is run through the city’s small business enterprise centre. The city provides the new entrepreneurs with mentors and hosts seminars to help them with the details of running a business.

The Ontario-funded program started a decade ago and provides students aged 15 to 29 with a one-time $3,000 grant to help run their business.

To qualify, a student must live in Ontario, be in school and plan to return in the fall, must not be operating an existing or previously existing business, and be prepared to commit a minimum of 35 hours a week for at least eight consecutive weeks if in high school or 12 consecutive weeks if enrolled in a post-secondary program.

Applicants are also required to submit a business plan and go through an interview. If the business gets a passing grade and the interview goes well, the student receives the first $1,500 to cover startup costs from the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.

“Most of the students who participate in the program have never taken a business course before,” Lebo said. “So it’s not just for commerce students, it’s up for anybody who wants to gain the experience and learn.”

Once students are in the program, they’re matched with mentors to help them go over details of running a business and attend presentations and seminars by a variety of business professionals.

The money earned during the summer is theirs to keep and at the end of the summer, if students complete their journals and the required 12 hours of business training and mentoring, they receive the second $1,500 to help with their business after the program is completed.

The program runs until the end of the summer, but students can choose to continue with their business throughout the year or go full time next summer and have the opportunity to run for the next five years because their business is registered with the province upon acceptance in the program.

“The best part about the program is that it gets them going,” said Lebo “Some students do it part-time and come back full force next summer and others have actually turned the business into a full time job.”

This summer, 76 students applied for the grant and 15 were accepted.

Article courtesy of the Hamilton Spectator.