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grottoco
Mar 1, 2012, 9:43 PM
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A few months ago there was an official announcement made about a new gym opening up in London, ON, in partnership with the Guelph Grotto. For those who are interested in an update, we are excited to announce that we have secured a location close to the intersection of Highbury and Oxford! Can't beat that location!
We are in discussion with the property owners and should begin construction on the new facility within the next month or so. We can't wait to tell you more about our exciting plans.
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13rdnjc
Apr 3, 2012, 3:44 AM
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Awesome! I can't wait to not be forced to go to a bowling alley when I want to climb. I'm going climb at your gym everyday and I will make sure I tell my friends. Please keep this thread updated as to when you start building and an estimated completion date. I know your gym will be a great success, this is excellent news. Good luck with the construction! :) |
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larpy
May 14, 2012, 10:40 AM
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I'll be in London this summer and wondering if there is any news about the gym? Also wondering if anyone is looking for climbing partner
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khlimber
Jun 12, 2012, 8:47 PM
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I too would be interested in knowing when the London gym will be opening up. I've been climbing at Climbers Rock in Burlington, Ontario but may be in London for a bit.
Other than Fleetway and East Park, are there any good places to climb outdoors in London? If someone is interested in teaching me outdoor climbing and wants a partner, let me know.
Thx.
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wingmant
Jun 22, 2012, 5:23 PM
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larpy wrote: I'll be in London this summer and wondering if there is any news about the gym? Also wondering if anyone is looking for climbing partner
Definitely I. I've been waiting and waiting for something local to get back into climbing since I've moved to London.
This has me so ridiculously excited!
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sgtrock
Jul 4, 2012, 7:27 AM
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Any updates on the London gym? Sounds exciting. I'd like to dust off my climbing gear that's been in storage since I moved back from Vancouver.
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jen_a_n
Jul 5, 2012, 3:34 AM
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Im pretty sure the plan is to be open by 2013 in jan... not completely sure though
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Tdub1975
Jul 25, 2012, 10:30 PM
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This is fantastic news!! And long overdue at that. I will pass the word around town. Any idea what the gym will be called?
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drkwolf519
Jul 27, 2012, 1:33 PM
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I am really excited to hear that there may be another gym opening up, I haven't had an opportunity to climb since the gym in Spikes closed! (indoor volleyball gym)
I am also interested in learning outdoor climbing and also need a new partner for indoor, I am fairly inexperienced and rusty but love the sport, let me know.
Cheers
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Tdub1975
Jul 31, 2012, 9:50 PM
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I'm in the same boat DRKWOLF519. I used to climb off and on years ago but the lack of quality gyms in town severly hampered my ability to train and to get my friends to come out and give it a try. Its great to hear a gym that is run for climbers by climbers is on its way. I really like what the grotto has to offer in Guelph. If its anything close to that, I would be impressed. I too, would need a climbing partner, although I plan to do a lot of bouldering, but what- ever climbing is climbing and I'm pumped.
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Tdub1975
Aug 2, 2012, 11:28 PM
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I emailed the Grotto to see if I could get some addtional info and this is all that I got back....
"Final details should be in place in the next few weeks, but currently the opening date for the London Climbing Company is slated for Jan/Feb 2013. YES! We are opening a 9,000+ square foot premiere facility. Updates soon"
Adam
The Guelph Grotto Climbing Co.
Its official they are doing it. I just hoped for some juicy details on location, website and such.
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Overide
Aug 21, 2012, 3:01 PM
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Have there been any updates on this? Is there a website?
A bunch of us used to climb at spikes until they closed, we are very excited about this!!!
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Tdub1975
Aug 22, 2012, 9:58 PM
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I've been online everyday checking for updates. Unfortuately I have not found any additional info. If anybody hears anything please share.
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Tdub1975
Nov 13, 2012, 10:47 PM
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No updates since March? I have to assume this was some kind of joke. It is almost the end of the year and still nothing to report?
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grottoco
Nov 15, 2012, 4:22 AM
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Hello Tdub1975, and the London climbing community,
Sorry to keep all of you in the dark for so long. We’re going to share what juicy details we can, though they probably aren’t as juicy as you’d like.
The space we announced in the spring (which was so awesome it still hurts to think about) got pulled out from under us when the city demanded that we do $200,000 in landscaping upgrades to the parking lot (grading, paving, and installing sewer connections). As neither the landlord nor us could afford that it sent us back to the search, without the city giving us a building permit the landlord would not do the construction we’d planned.
After a couple of failed negotiations for other properties we’ve reached a deal on a new space. We’re excited again, 24’ to 32’ clear in a good central location. However it requires rezoning. We’ve submitted the paperwork and the planning department has scheduled a meeting with us next week where we will find out if they will support our application (what conversations we’ve had with them seem promising, but we’re still nervous). From the meeting next week the application shuffles through various departments until it eventually is approved at council about 4 months from now. Unfortunately that really is the speed at which the process works, and at this point it is out of our hands.
It’s been a long road for us and for you. We thank you all for your patience. We we’re a bit gun shy about going public with new info after getting the runaround on the previous property and didn’t want to announce anything more until we had certainty.
If anyone wants to receive updates directly please PM this account. I’ll add your contact info to any announcements.
Thank you thank you thank you to all the people who’ve called and emailed us with your enthusiasm, we are really stoked to be bringing climbing back to London and every day of delay drives us bonkers.
The Grotto Team
TLDR: First building deal killed by city regulations after lease signed, newest building deal in rezoning process.
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djnibs
Nov 15, 2012, 4:48 AM
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I for one am super excited for this to be taking place! Thanks Grotto team for filling in the blanks!
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Tdub1975
Nov 16, 2012, 12:20 AM
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Thanks for the update. Its too bad that our citys' bureaucratic red tape has caused so much turmoil in finding a good facility to start building. Glad you guys are putting in all the hard work and haven't given up. Can't wait for the grand opening.
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grottoco
Nov 16, 2012, 4:07 AM
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Thanks djnibs and Tdub1975,
It's been a crazy process that hopefully someday we can share. Everyone at the city has been super nice and professional but can only work within their regulations and some of the regulations make it really hard for our kind of business since our use is considered commercial but our space needs are industrial. We also want to make the best gym possible and not settle.
We'll keep you posted how it goes.
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grottoco
Nov 29, 2012, 3:02 PM
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Update:
We had our meeting with the city. We are...cautiously optimistic. They did not say no which is key. They didn't say absolutely yes either (they can't really). The general tone was positive with a few outstanding questions. We've a bunch more paperwork to submit now.
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Grif
Nov 30, 2012, 8:16 PM
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I'm so very glad to hear that all is moving forward, albeit cautiously. I have been visiting this thread daily with my fingers crossed for updates. I am looking forward to starting to climb again.
Hopefully our current situation with Mr. Fontana isn't making the red tape more treacherous than need be.
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OhthatChris
Dec 27, 2012, 6:33 AM
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Is there anything at all Londoners can do to help the process along? any office or official we can call or write to?
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jaimie2819
Jan 1, 2013, 9:42 PM
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This is so exciting! I am new to the city this year and I can't believe I moved somewhere without a rock gym...
Because I am new to London I will be looking for a new partner for indoor or outdoor as well, so I'd be down for getting involved if any of you want to go when this new gym opens up!
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OhthatChris
Jan 22, 2013, 4:23 PM
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Ditto on the excitment. Ditto on needing a partner.
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Tdub1975
Jan 24, 2013, 9:55 PM
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OhthatChris wrote: Ditto on the excitment. Ditto on needing a partner.
Sad to say my excitement has turned to frustration. This is turning into a painfully long wait to get this done.
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jaimie2819
Jan 31, 2013, 9:40 PM
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Has there been any more developments? Any news at all?
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