Ten Ways to Boost St. Thomas Before the Volkswagen Plant Opens

St. Thomas is home-base for our team at young & free, and we are very excited by the potential growth of the city following the announcement of the new Volkswagen / PowerCo EV battery plant set to open in 2027! Here is some background on this transformational development …

Volkswagen is investing $7B to build the plant, which will make batteries for electric vehicles. The federal government has committed up to $13B to support the facility. Three thousand direct jobs are anticipated with up to thirty thousand related jobs to be generated in the region. The factory will be the largest in Canada, reportedly set to cover an area roughly the size of 210 football fields. According to the VW Canada website, the industrial park as a whole will encompass 850 football fields. Further, the province of Ontario will provide $500M to assist with local infrastructure needs including the expansion of roads, highways, utility systems as well as fire and police services. Slice the numbers and analyze the impact any which way, and the bottom line is that everything about this new St. Thomas Gigafactory is massive.

Local context: the plant will be constructed on the northeast edge of St. Thomas, swallowing up hundreds of acres of prime farmland. Many existing trees have been removed already. Critics have pointed out the downside of such sprawl, and lamented the way in which the deal was made, specifically how the province introduced Bill 63 to annex land from the adjacent Municipality of Central Elgin to have the plant fully in St. Thomas. Everything happened quickly. Still, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier Doug Ford, St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston and Frank Blome, CEO of VW subsidiary PowerCo, announced the new plant formally at a well-received media event on Friday, April 21st, 2023, inside the Elgin County Railway Museum. The project is moving forward and there is a pronounced feeling of optimism in the air …

For residents of St. Thomas, several questions may come to mind. How will this new plant impact residential development and housing availability in the community? Will the transit system be improved to allow for the necessary flow of workers? What cultural amenities are required to help welcome more people to the community, including new Canadians?

With these questions in view, we have put together a first-look at ‘Ten Ways to Boost St. Thomas Before the Volkswagen Plant Opens’ … this is only a preliminary list, and we invite readers to send us thoughts and suggestions! Periodically we will revisit the list & add new ideas.

1 / If St. Thomas would like to benefit fully from the VW plant, we need to build as much residential capacity as possible over the next few years. Mayor Joe Preston has talked about the need for housing in all forms, from single-family homes to large apartment buildings and everything in between. Our hope is that the downtown can be targeted: with more people living in the core, we can build a vibrant, walkable space and limit sprawl on the outskirts. Fortunately, there has been a lot of infill development already in St. Thomas, and more is possible.

2 / City staff will have to focus on the infrastructure requirements of the new plant, including the expansion of roads and highways, utilities, and protective services. All of this is well beyond our pay grade, of course, but obviously there is a need to support this complex new development.

3 / Consider working with Fanshawe College to construct a student residence to support the expansion of the St. Thomas / Elgin Regional Campus. Traditionally this campus has focussed on the development of skilled trades, but there is a ceiling on growth due to the absence of reliable student accommodations and limitations surrounding classroom capacity and labs. Why not look at all options to attract more domestic and international students to St. Thomas? We were very pleased to see Peter Devlin, President of Fanshawe College, at the official announcement of the new plant. Perhaps there is a way to work collaboratively on a housing project, as most new student residences are built by private companies in that specific business.

4 / Connect with Thames Valley District School Board officials to discuss the enhancement of Arthur Voaden Secondary School. Gradually, elementary and secondary schools have moved out of downtown St. Thomas, which is a sure-fire way to hollow out the core. Arthur Voaden is the last one standing, and the staff and students could benefit from a renewed facility that can prepare young people for careers in the skilled trades and emerging careers. Parents with young children decide on where to live based on many factors, including the location of schools. If we want the downtown core to thrive, there should be excellent elementary and secondary school options. There is a new Child Care Centre going up downtown, which is positive.

5 / One would assume that there will be an influx of workers to the St. Thomas area, and we will have the good fortune to have more & more residents of diverse cultural backgrounds. Imagine the possibilities that this growth presents! Our thoughts turn immediately to new food events and cultural venues, perhaps a food truck court downtown that can double as a fun event space. Diversity drives economic development and we should put in place all amenities possible to capitalize on the potential. Plus, we love food and drinks and bringing people together!

6 / Following up on the need for cultural amenities downtown, the time has arrived to put all efforts and resources possible into the renewal of the Elgin County Railway Museum and surrounding lands. This property is central to the community both geographically and historically, and offers the best opportunity for a large civic space for special events. Why is St. Thomas referred to as the ‘Railway City’ if we do not totally embrace and expand this concept? There are some important community projects currently underway, including the Hospice of Elgin and the Tiny Hope residential development led by the YWCA – St. Thomas / Elgin. The renewal of the Railway Museum and the adjacent property should be the next big push.

7 / The local transit system has gaps. Riders can get to and from the core parts of the city, but the routes do not really expand past that. There should be transit in place to move people to and from the industrial area, specifically the VW plant, and this should happen at key times, like shift changes. Putting a reliable public transit system in for new employees and their families just makes sense. (For a bit of historical context, this thread from Monte McNaughton, Ontario Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, is particularly interesting). Additionally, regional transit is essential … how about buses from London to St. Thomas, and dare we dream big – how about a light-rail link from London to St. Thomas and Port Stanley? This is the sort of forward-thinking game-changer that could help add residential density and promote walkability. Following the VW announcement, here is our motto: why not in St. Thomas?

8 / The VW plant announcement highlighted the shift in thinking around environmental issues. We know that we need to address climate change aggressively, but how can we do this on a local level? The transition to electric vehicles is promising, but is the goal to replace every internal combustion engine vehicle with an EV? What is the full-cycle environmental impact of EVs and batteries now and in the future? What will be the environmental impact of building this plant? St Thomas should continue to create and maintain green spaces and plant more and more trees. We should continue to include well-designed protected bike lanes and walking paths as the city expands. New residential areas should be walkable. Think of the environmental impact of walking or biking a block to get your morning coffee rather than driving to a farther location. Everything adds up. And for electric vehicles, we need charging stations – after all, we are now EV City! Our local leaders are aware of all these issues, naturally, and with this extraordinary new investment in the community there is the opportunity to continue evolving in forward-thinking ways.

9 / When people can be involved in the decision-making of the city, they feel a deeper connection to the community and a sense of pride. What platforms are there for newcomers to get involved in St Thomas? Maybe there should be regular town hall meetings with the Mayor and other local leaders where community members can share ideas. Maybe there should be room in the City budget to bring some of the best ideas to life. Maybe the STEAM Community Studio program at the STEAM Centre can expand, as this initiative has provided a way for students and residents to impact the city. There is often a lack of local engagement in decision-making, and more opportunities are required. We want St. Thomas to be overflowing with fun city-building projects!

10 / We need signature, annual events to engage residents and attract visitors. Too many small, undernourished happenings can drain resources and enthusiasm. St. Thomas is growing, and the opportunity is there to support talented producers who can manage major events. Bring in musicians that people want to see, let food trucks and vendors take over dormant spaces, and close down the streets for pedestrians more often. Why be timid? If we aim big with events, people will come! Again, why not in St. Thomas? Tourism is an important economic driver. We should provide the terrific team at Railway City Tourism with more financial and human resources, and get behind innovative entrepreneurs . Cultural development is essential.

So, those are ‘Ten Ways to Boost St. Thomas Before the Volkswagen Plant Opens’ … we may be right on some points, we could be wrong on others, but the essential thing is to generate the conversation! Over the past few years, our team has arranged more than $3M in private funding for all sort of new amenities, including parks, murals, education programs, environmental initiatives, entertainment venues, and more. We are thrilled to see many others stepping forward with contributions of funds, time, and ideas. Now the push needs to be toward continuous activation. We look forward to hearing from you & supporting the growth of the city!

Written By: Andrew Gunn & Maddie King, young & free press