CAMBRIDGE, Ont. -- Jim Flaherty, Ontario Minister of Finance and Minister responsible for SuperBuild, today announced $4.1 million towards the building of the new home for the University of Waterloo's School of Architecture in the heart of downtown Cambridge's most historic area.

"I am absolutely delighted that, through SuperBuild, the Ontario government is participating in this exciting project," Flaherty said. "It's a true public-private partnership that will provide Waterloo's School of Architecture with a new home worthy of its stature, and trigger significant new business and investment opportunities in Cambridge's city centre."

"The university supported relocating the School of Architecture from the start," said University of Waterloo President David Johnston. "We recognized that the project offered tremendous opportunities in terms of reinvigorating this community and raising the architecture school's profile and prestige."

"Many people have worked tirelessly to bring this project forward; it is truly a community effort." said Gerry Martiniuk, MPP for Cambridge. "The new School of Architecture will create jobs and local business opportunities, and breathe new life and excitement into one of southwestern Ontario's most historic areas."

The announcement was made today at the site of an old textile factory on Melville Street, next to the Grand River in the historic Galt City Centre. The $27.2-million project -- scheduled for completion by 2003 -- will provide a new, three-level, 85,000-square-foot facility that will accommodate about 400 architecture students, faculty and staff.

"On behalf of my other partners, I want to extend thanks to the people and the City of Cambridge for the tremendous support they've provided for this project," said Tom Watson, who heads up the private-sector consortium of local business leaders, called the Cambridge Business Consortium. "Our goal here is to create a world-class home for one of North America's leading schools of architecture, in a way that complements and enhances our historic surroundings and the local community," added Watson.

Through the Millennium Partnerships initiative, SuperBuild is investing $40 million in strategic infrastructure in Waterloo Region. The relocation of the School of Architecture also meets the province's Smart Growth priorities by maximizing the efficient use of existing infrastructure, renewing the environment and enhancing the growth and development of downtown urban cores.

The project costs are to be shared by four partners -- a private-sector consortium of local business leaders ($12.7 million); the City of Cambridge ($6.25 million); SuperBuild ($4.1 million); and Industry Canada ($4.1 million).

At the time of today's announcement, the first three partners were still awaiting word from Industry Canada as to whether federal funding for the project will be made available.

The site for the School of Architecture is located on the west bank of the Grand River, a Canadian Heritage River, and forms the northern gateway into the historic Galt Downtown. The site has a rich history and was once a dominant element of the local economic landscape.

Riverside Silk Mills Ltd. was founded in 1915 by Donald Walter McCormick and his brother E.M. McCormick. The brothers bought land on Melville Street South in 1918 and in January 1919 announced plans to build a three-storey brick mill valued at $25,000. The original mill is an "L" shaped structure with the shorter wing running from Melville Street to the edge of the river and the other arm running along the river parallel to Melville.

Construction was undertaken by Schutz Bros. Construction of Brantford under the onsite direction of Charles McInnes. In 1922 a new wing was added to the factory. The new addition was three stories high, was in the same type and style as the original mill and measured 50 feet by 80 feet. It was built by the same Charles McInnes who supervised the construction of the original factory. McInnes had moved to Galt and now operated his own construction company.

Further additions were made to the factory. It is likely that one major addition occurred around 1946 when the McCormicks sold the business. It is unclear who the purchaser was, but the new president was Leslie A. Dunbar of Kitchener who took over operations in July 1946. Two years later the McCormick brothers opened a new factory called Glatex in one of the former Shurly-Dietrich-Atkins factory buildings to manufacture rayon, silk and nylon yarns.

In 1956, Riverside Silk Mills became the first textile mill in Canada to introduce a profit-sharing plan for all members of the company. Under the terms of the plan, 30 per cent of all profits before taxes went into a fund controlled solely by the employees. The company was also one of the pioneers in switching from natural to synthetic fibres and was one of the first to enter the tricot-knitting field first with nylon and then with terelene.

In 1959, Riverside Silk Mills sold its fabric division to Silknit Ltd. of Toronto. However, Riverside Silk Mills continued to operate the division for Silknit under the name of Riverside Fabrics Ltd. under a contract that ended in October 1960. At the time, the fabric division moved out of the Melville Street factory either to Toronto or to Silknit's recently purchased mills in Hespeler. In June 1960 the company name was changed from Riverside Silk Mills Ltd. to Riverside Yarns Ltd. During the 1960s, the company "manufactured and processed man-made fibres for modern clothing, upholstery, carpeting and industrial applications and was a leader in the global shift from natural to synthetic fibre production." In 1973, the company employed 53 male and 129 female workers and produced "stretch set" nylon and polyester yarns.

In 1974, the number of employees was reduced slightly to 46 male and 121 female workers, and by 1975-76 the company had stopped local operations entirely. The building was vacant in 1976 and 1977 before becoming home to a number of small retail and manufacturing concerns, including Banbury House, Cambridge Precision Springs, Riverside Industries, Arc Industries and Funcraft Recreation Vehicle. By 1984, the primary occupant was Tiger Brand and by 1986 Galt Knitting and Tiger Brand had taken over sole occupancy, which they maintained until 2000.

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UW Release no. 47 -- March 7, 2002