A local engineering firm is hoping to turn a former brownfield site into a field of dreams.
Greenland Group of Companies out of Collingwood has partnered with Cortel Group on a plan to build a four-storey building they’re designing as a social entrepreneurship and technology hub.
Mark Palmer, president of Greenland, said the idea began to form about three years ago when he realized Greenland needed more space to expand. The group of companies already occupies three buildings along Hume Street.
As a member of the Kitchener/Waterloo-based accelerator called Communitech, Palmer was also inspired by the accelerator model where small businesses and tech start-ups can come to connect and network in order to grow their businesses and get their tech more exposure in larger markets thanks to the businesses and institutions (like universities) that are part of an accelerator.
“I thought this whole innovation Communitech model was needed for this area,” said Palmer.
He’s not the only one who would like to see a local accelerator. There’s a group of private and public enterprise currently working toward establishing an accelerator program in Collingwood with a focus on health and wellness technology. You can read about that here.
Palmer’s dream is for the local accelerator to find a home in the new Hume Street Hub, and he’s reserved the second floor in anticipation of a future partnership.
“If we build it, hopefully, they will come,” said Palmer.
Eric Palmer, Mark’s son and the business coordinator for Greenland, said the building will fill the need for high-quality office space within Collingwood and hopefully will become a place where businesses and innovation can connect for growth.
“The right facility, and the right programming, which we’re designing the space for, that’s really needed for this to take off,” said Eric.
Greenland and the Palmers are already familiar with the accelerator model, not only because Mark is an Angel Investor and a member of Communitech, but because Greenland has done its own work to accelerate start-up tech companies.
In Collingwood, Greenland worked with a local teen who developed an Internet-based monitoring system for sump pumps and partnered with the Town of Collingwood for a pilot project using the Safe Sumps to monitor the effects of storm events on sump pumps and reduce the risk of basement flooding.
Safe Sumps allowed homeowners to monitor sump pump activity even while not at home, and would also provide alerts when a sump pump wasn’t working properly.
Since Collingwood’s success with the program and a profile in Water Canada magazine, Mark Palmer said there have been other municipalities interested in a similar partnership and the Safe Sump technology.
He said the Safe Sump project is an example of what he would like to see the Hume Street Innovation Hub replicate but on a much larger scale.
“I think this is going to start growing,” said Mark. “I want to … show that a small business or a cluster of small businesses who have synergies, technologies – it’s all about relationships, too – that you can actually complement each other and grow your business.”
The Centre for Business and Economic Development has thrown its support behind Greenland and Cortel’s Hub plans. The board of directors voted in favour of the idea and expressed interest in becoming a tenant in the new space
“There are lots of other small start-ups and entrepreneurs in our community that need help and guidance,” said Eric, adding that help comes from places like the Centre for Business and, maybe, one day from Collingwood’s own accelerator program.
“To bring everyone under one roof and have this as a high-profile, highly-visible part of our community that encourages entrepreneurship, encourages testing these new ideas, we think that’s really special and a great opportunity," Eric added.
The building itself will be equipped with many of the technologies Greenland already has partnered with, including rainwater harvesting on the green roof, solar panel areas, and smart technologies throughout.
The fourth store will occupy only a part of the building footprint and will include a 2,800 square-foot enclosed space for community events and meetings, and a rooftop terrace in the rest of the space.
The other three floors will include about 11,850 square feet of gross floor area. The first floor will be reserved for retail/commercial space, the second floor is, for now, reserved for the innovation hub/ accelerator space, and the third floor will be more commercial space.
The building will be located at 121 Hume Street, a little more than a block away from the Monaco condominium building currently under construction. The site was formerly John’s Carwash and gas station.
The plan includes underground parking.
Mark Palmer said Greenland and Cortel would be presenting their plans for the building to the town before the end of the year, and the plans already conform to the official plan and zoning for the site. He said construction could begin as early as next spring.
You can read more about the proposed Hume Innovation Hub here.
