Business View Civil and Municipal | April/May 2022

88 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3 O nce known as the place where ‘rails and water meet’– a hub for industrial manufacturing halfway between Toronto and Buffalo –Welland, Ontario, is now forging its own path. The growing Niagara region city has seen exponential growth over the past five years, allowing it to remediate and redevelop former industrial brownfields to make room for new technology, new housing, and plenty of recreational opportunities. “I think we are quite proud of us being a great place to live, work, play, and invest,” says Welland CAO Steve Zorbas. Founded by United Empire Loyalists in 1788, the city’s proximity and location along the Welland River and just 15 miles from Niagara Falls, made it an ideal spot for industrial manufacturing, including steel, automotive and textiles. With changes to the economy in recent years causing the closure or relocation of many of these plants, the city ended up with around 500 acres of brownfield land that was left empty and contaminated. Rather than let the city fall into decline, Welland’s City Council has stepped up to find ways to change those brownfields into lands of opportunity. “We have seen significant brownfield redevelopment in the city,” Zorbas says. “We’ve offered a tax increment grant and other incentives to facilitate and encourage developers to consider redeveloping ntario A New Day Has Come