It was a packed room for the announcement of the renaming and reimagining of the Loch Sloy Business Park and Airport in Prince Edward County.
20/05/2022 – PEC Community Partners Inc. is a group of community builders including Tercot Communities, DECO Communities, PEC Placemaking, and Rockport Group. (Photo: Andrew Clarke / Quinte News)
On Friday, PEC Community Partners Inc. announced that Base31 is the new name for the former Camp Picton site. The new title came from the site’s former function as the Royal Airforce’s No. 31 Bombing and Gunnery School.
20/05/2022 – Tim Jones CEO of Base31 and partner with PEC Community Partners Inc. (Photo: Andrew Clarke / Quinte News)
At the event, Tim Jones, Base31 CEO and partner with PEC Community Partners Inc., announced Base31’s collaboration with 31 organizations, businesses and individuals.
Among the collaborators are the Municipality of Prince Edward County, All Welcome Here, PEC Arts Council, History Lives Here, Dept. of Illumination, The County Foundation, Chamber of Commerce, Festival Players, Driftwood Theatre, PEC Library, Jacqui Burley and many more.
Jones says Base31 is open to more collaboration with businesses and organizations in the community.
“Well our doors open really, we’re going to continue to reach out, we encourage people to reach out to us, we’re looking for ideas.”
20/05/2022 – Assaf Weisz partner with PEC Community Partners Inc. talked on Base31’s focuses moving forward. (Photo: Andrew Clarke / Quinte News)
PEC Community Partners Inc. partner Assaf Weisz announced plans to begin revitalising and reimagining the current landscape architecture at Base31 through collaboration with Picton-based VTLA Studio. Work will begin over coming weeks in the northwest corner of the 70-acre site with plans to plant over 1,000 native plants and 150 trees in the four acres in the northwest zone, north of Royal Road.
Along with plans to revitalize surrounding landscape, Base31 is continuing to renovate buildings. Jones says there is a lot of work left with the site’s restoration.
“We’ve got over fifty buildings on-site but a little over half of them are currently in use, so we’ve got a lot of work to do to kind of renovate and rehabilitate some of those buildings.”
Staff are continuing to commission public art and line up summer programming with the site currently having two calls for proposals for artists.
Base31 is set to open to the public on July 1. To kick off the season, Base31 will host a benefit concert for Tsi Tyónnheht Onkwawén:na language school in Tyendinaga on July 2, 2022.
Other highlights of summer programming include the PEC Community Craft Beer Festival, We’re Funny That Way Queer Comedy Festival and musical performances by The Walkmen, The Mercenaries and Sarah Harmer.
PEC Community Partners Inc. is a group of community builders including Tercot Communities,DECO Communities, PEC Placemaking, and Rockport Group. The Ontario-based partnership brings together expertise in mixed-use residential, affordable housing and commercial space, adaptive re-use of heritage sites, and complete community development with a specific focus on creative placemaking.
20/05/2022 – The site was built by the Canadian government and originally operated by the British Royal Airforce as No. 31 Bombing and Gunnery School. It was built in 1940 as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan that trained aircrews from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand during World War II. (Photo: Andrew Clarke / Quinte News)
The 70-acre Base31 site includes more than 50 former barracks, mess halls, hangars and administrative buildings. It is part of an approximately 700-acre property. Today, the site is home to 75 tenants and is used for a wide range of business activities including commercial and industrial operations as well as space for makers, artists and galleries.
Bay of Quinte MPP Todd Smith says maintaining the site’s history along with improvements will be another reason for visitors to come to the county.
“Well there’s all kinds of history here with what we now know as Base31 and it’s important to maintain the heritage and the history that we have here at this old commonwealth air force base. With the people they have brought together, the vision of the community will be realized and the heritage will live on and it will just add to the many reasons to come to Prince Edward County.”
For more details on summer programming and future plans for Base31 visit, www.base31.ca
