Community worries about college closures
Algonquin College’s Perth campus is on the market, with plans for Algonquin to leave the town by the end of August 2026. A listing from the property broker CBRE indicates that the campus includes five buildings totaling just over 42,000 square feet on a 12.34-acre lot. The college hopes to generate funds through this sale to help cover budget shortfalls. No asking price has been provided by CBRE.
Earlier this year, during a town council meeting, a local organization called Save Our College, led by former Shopify COO Toby Shannan, urged the provincial government to stop the sale so that the campus could be converted into a non-profit center for skilled trades.
At the same time, a report prepared by Strategy Corp for St. Lawrence College suggested closing its Brockville and Cornwall campuses if more provincial support isn’t forthcoming. In response, St. Lawrence president Glenn Vollebregt emphasized his institution’s dedication to both communities.
Plans for VIA Rail express service paused
VIA Rail has put on hold a pilot project aimed at allowing express trains to skip eastern Ontario.
In mid-September, VIA revealed that its express trains running between Montreal and Ottawa would not make stops in eastern Ontario except for Ottawa itself. This change was expected to cut travel times by as much as 40 minutes per trip, according to VIA’s announcement.
The company stated that CN Rail, which owns the rail lines, couldn’t accommodate the new schedule.
VIA indicated it will collaborate closely with CN in hopes of reinstating faster service in the future and pointed out that downtown-to-downtown service was requested by 70 percent of passengers.
Chemtech innovation center opens in Kingston
A new facility dedicated to green chemistry innovation and commercialization has opened in Kingston, partly due to a $3-million investment from the City of Kingston.
The RXN Hub (Reaction Hub) is a 30,000-square-foot space featuring chemistry wet labs along with modular piloting and pre-manufacturing areas all under one roof.
The city announced that this Hub was initially established in 2024 and will be located at 945 Princess St., within facilities operated by Ottawa-based construction firm Modern Niagara, which is one of several partners involved alongside Queen’s University and various chem-tech and cleantech organizations.
Talks continue for Hawkesbury-area business park
A business group in Hawkesbury is working hard to speed up discussions between the town and Champlain Township regarding establishing a business park.
The Hawkesbury Industrial Investment Association bought 130 acres of land in Champlain last year due to interest from numerous companies looking to set up operations there. To attract these businesses, water and sewer services need to be added on site.
Patrick Tallon, who sits on the board of directors for the association, mentioned they hope either Hawkesbury can service this land or take over it completely while expanding services there. He noted one challenge is that Champlain Township stands to gain property tax revenue while Hawkesbury needs compensation for electrical connections.
“The type of businesses we want to attract aren’t interested in well and septic,” Tallon told OBJ.
“Our prime minister said we want to double our exports to Europe and sell more across Canada,” said Tallon, who is also CEO of Tulmar Safety Systems based in Hawkesbury. “This presents an excellent chance to benefit from increased defense spending along with greater trans-Atlantic reliance on Canadian agriculture and food production.”
Brockville’s No Name grocery store stays open
Loblaws shared earlier this year that its trial run with three No Name grocery stores has wrapped up with only one remaining operational.
The company noted that their locations in St. Catharines and La Salle didn’t establish a solid long-term customer base; however, Brockville’s store will continue operating.
This streamlined shopping option next door to Dollarama shares space with a No Frills grocery store in Brockville features shorter hours along with a smaller refrigerated section.
Keen interest from American tourists continues for Kingston
Tourism Kingston reports data indicating U. S. visits remained steady during the first two quarters of 2025.
“No matter what’s happening geopolitically today, Americans are still choosing Kingston specifically,” said Megan Knott, CEO of Tourism Kingston during her update presented at city council meetings. “Being close enough for driving markets right near the U. S border means we need keep engaging those tourists.”
Diving deeper into her Oct. 21 presentation at council meetings Knott credited campaigns done jointly with Destination Ontario aimed at reaching American tourists as part of what drove these results forward.
The information indicated American visitors made up five percent overall visitors-making them second only behind domestic travelers contributing significantly toward tourism here -and overall visits rose by ten point two percent compared year-over-year Q2 data collected back during twenty twenty-four per Tourism Kingston’s reports.
Primaris brings Fairgrounds onboard
While Primaris REIT decides how best use Cataraqui Centre mall’s previous Hudson’s Bay area , they’ve secured tenant space inside some old Sears premises located on opposite sides within mall.
