Ontario Construction News staff writer
Progress continues on the City of Orillia’s waterfront redevelopment project for 70 Front N.
The city says in a statement that it is continuing to work with Deloitte, its project consultant, and its solicitor to navigate the legal processes required to prepare the 9.75-acre site for sale and future redevelopment by one of the shortlisted proponents announced in June 2019.
The Request for Proposal (RFP) document, which is currently being developed, will be released in spring 2020.
“The City of Orillia is fully committed to the waterfront redevelopment project. This catalytic project will revitalize the core of our city and breathe new vibrancy into our downtown waterfront area, which is in complete sync with the city’s recently adopted strategic plan,” said Mayor Steve Clarke.
“Over the last year the city has made huge strides on the waterfront redevelopment project,” said Coun. Tim Lauer, chair of the Waterfront Working Group. “Council started the expropriation of lease rights process to prepare the lands for development, we’ve narrowed down a list of developers to three qualified proponents and council allocated funds for demolition of the southern portion of the plaza.”
City staff have been actively de-risking the site, which is a process of eliminating potential development roadblocks that could prevent or obstruct the future redevelopment of the southern portion of the site. The legal process to secure the city’s right to redevelop the southern portion of the site by expropriating certain lease rights from existing tenants which could affect future redevelopment also continues to move forward. The city is not expropriating Metro’s rights to operate a grocery store at 70 Front St. N.
When the RFP is released in the spring of 2020, the three proponents – Amico Properties, Fram Building Group and TPI Acquisitions (Tribal) – will have several months to develop their proposals for the redevelopment of the site. The RFP builds upon the successful Request for Qualification (RFQ) process, which established the vision for the site and included 12 development principles to guide the redevelopment process. The development principles, which will be reiterated in the RFP, include priorities such as compatibility with the surrounding land use, enhancement of both the resident and visitor experience and alignment with the City’s Downtown Tomorrow Plan.
Once redevelopment proposals are received, the City of Orillia will carry out a public consultation process to gather resident feedback on the three proposals before selecting the successful proponent. It’s anticipated that public consultation will take place in the fall of 2020.
“The Waterfront Redevelopment Project is an exciting development which is drawing the attention of developers and business owners,” said Laura Thompson, manager of real estate and commercial development. “We are already receiving interest from investors and entrepreneurs who have heard what’s happening in Orillia and are approaching us to ask how they can locate new stores, restaurants and services on the property.”
In 2012, the city adopted the Downtown Tomorrow Plan, which set out a long-term vision to better connect the downtown core and waterfront area. In 2016, the city purchased 70 Front St. N. with the intent to extend Coldwater Street to Centennial Drive and facilitate redevelopment of the southern portion of the plaza.