Opinions

Letter for Open House - 141-149 Main Street East

Lacey Gallagher, Grimsby Resident

Re: Mixed-use proposal at 141-149 Main Street East

April 1, 2021

Dear honourable Mayor, Town Council and to whom this may concern,

I write to you today in regards to the infamous impeding developments on Main Street. It is difficult to decide where to even begin regarding this topic, but I will begin with my personal history of Grimsby and why I feel compelled to have my voice and many others heard.

I am a third generation Grimsby resident and the granddaughter of the late Jeanine Gallagher. My grandmother and grandfather migrated to Grimsby 66 years ago from Hamilton and built a home with their own hands alongside the other Grimsby Co-Op Community’s families near Murray Street Park. They proceeded to have 6 children like many other large families that populated this beautiful town they called home. My father is the 3rd eldest and spent his entire life within Grimsby and has been present throughout the town’s many changes. I’ve heard countless stories from my father about all the adventures he had from endless days by the lake, his time at St. Joseph’s School & Grimsby Secondary School, living safely amongst the kind locals and thankful to have both the lake and escarpment at his disposal.

My own childhood and teen years have been spent similarly by living 5 minutes from my grandma’s home by the lake. I have countless fond memories that this letter wouldn’t be able to contain. More presently I have previously lived on Doran Ave directly behind the DeSantis Lot and by luck found myself now residing behind the Losani Coles’ Florist Lot. It seems these projects follow me where I go. Grimsby is all I’ve ever known to be by home, it’s in my family’s history and I cannot explain what this town means to me.

I’m not going to pretend that I’m oblivious to how bountiful Grimsby is with what it has to offer and I understand that many others want to experience this incredible towns’ benefits. Incoming new residents are inevitable as is growth especially due to the changing elements of today’s real estate and job market. With this said I want to emphasize preservation. It takes immense work, planning, passion, dedication and knowledge to prepare a town such as this according to today’s changing world. Decisions such as allowing developments as the ones previously addressed should not be made in haste nor with profit taking precedence.

I myself voted for Mayor Bob Bentley in the past and have voted for Mayor Jeff Jordan and I do not regret those decisions since I believe that both do care about the well-being of Grimsby and its citizens – I hope I can continue to say this. Us citizens – which if I may remind you are the ones who voted to put you where you are now – are speaking out against the lack of care put into the preservation of Grimsby’s charm and assets. Not only will these developments as they stand not fit into the heritage of Grimsby’s architecture but we also as a town do not have the infrastructure to support such an influx of new residents in these areas. Main Street is already quite populated and I can’t comprehend how a small dead-end street like Doran Ave will be able to handle the traffic.

To conclude, as citizens we do not request – we demand transparency, consideration and clarity during the growth process of Grimsby and this does not mean sudden urban intensification. I will continue to support and volunteer my time to Save Main Street until these concerns are met with judicious actions.

Yours Truly,
Lacey Gallagher