Image

Fanshawe students design sustainable community for Petrolia

May 5, 2018

Ben Janssen sees a sustainable community with parks and lots of room for pedestrian traffic just off  Discovery Line near Eureka St.
Janssen and his team of architectural design and urban design students from Fanshawe College were declared the winners of the Marshall S. Huzevka Foundation’s Urban Design Project. The Fanshawe students were in Petrolia April 25 to unveil their designs for a sustainable community
The foundation was formed by the Petrolia family after Marshall, an architectural design at Fanshawe student, died in a motorcycle accident in 1995.
Matt Huzevka says the family has been hosting a competition for three years – but this year decided to have the students look at a piece of property the family owns on Discovery Line and come up with a concept for a community there.
Janssen’s group came up with Evergreen Communities. The judges like the unique layout of roads in the community and the people friendly design which includes a park and water feature at the entrance and a park on the northwest side with a storm management pond.
The plan calls for outdoor trails and outdoor gym equipment.
The homes are as close to sustainable as possible with solar panels to generate power, extra insulation to keep heating costs down and light coloured roofs to reflect the sun and cut down on the cooling costs.

For more on the story – pick up your copy of The Independent at Heidi’s Independent Grocer

Share This

Image
Front Page

Body of missing swimmer recovered at Pinery Park

August 28, 2026

The Independent The body of a missing swimmer has been recovered in Pinery Provincial Park. Aug. 26, a 28-year-old Scarborough man was swimming with friends in Lake Huron when he went under the water. His friends tried to rescue him but were unable to bring him to shore. The OPP brought in patrol boats and the US Coast Guard joined

Read More

Image
Front Page

Feds say tariff support for business and agriculture will last as long as its needed

August 27, 2026

Blake Ellis/The Independent The recent trade proposal from the United States was “either fair nor economically sound, ” says Secretary of State for the Canadian Revenue Agency Wayne Long. He was describing the recent round of trade talks that fell through six days ago and led to 50 percent US tariffs being imposed on Canada. The secretary of state was

Read More

Image
Front Page

OPP continues search for missing Scarborough man

August 27, 2026

Heather Wright/The Independent Lambton OPP have brought in boats, planes and the underwater recovery unit as the search for a missing swimmer in Lake Huron off Pinery Provincial Park continues. Around 1 pm Wednesday, OPP were called to the area after a 28 year-old Scarborough man had trouble in the water. Friends swimming with the man tried to rescue him,

Read More

Image
Front Page

Swimmer missing in Lake Huron off Pinery Park

August 26, 2026

The Independent A man is missing in the waters off Piney Park. Eyewitnesses at the provincial park say early this afternoon a group of friends was swimming when one man disappeared. One of the man’s friends tried to rescue him, but later was himself taken from the water for medical treatment. Boats along the shoreline could be seen searching for

Read More