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Northern Light

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Just a saw this story in RENX, which Collingwood is has endorsed as an MZO request.

Its for a 130 acre development, which would contain 2,200 midrise and lowrise residential units, and 1.6Mft2 medical/office/research space.

More details after the link:

renx.ca

MZO sought for 130-acre Collingwood mixed-use development

Town council in Collingwood, Ont. has endorsed a request for a Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO) to help advance the rezoning process for the 130-acre Poplar Regional Health & Wellness Village mixed-use development. Di Poce Management Limited (DPML) and Live Work
renx.ca renx.ca

The proposal includes some pretty sizable carrots for the community.......30 acres donated, in part, for a new campus for the Collingwood Hospital.

5.5km of recreational trails, which the proponent hopes to link up to the existing regional trail system.

A further 19 acres set aside for nature, including as bird sanctuary.

There is a suggestion..........of 'attainable workforce housing'....

And a commitment to no big box retail, along with a possible Regional Transportation Hub.

I'm undecided on how much credibility this deserves...........but it's certainly substantial, and interesting.

1661567843821.png

Source: Live Work Learn Play Inc, via Renx
 
Ok, we started w/the Renx story, now I've found the website.

poplarhealthandwellnessvillage.com

The Poplar Health and Wellness Village

The Poplar Regional Health & Wellness Village will deliver Ontario’s premier “Base Camp” for Innovative Health & Wellness.
poplarhealthandwellnessvillage.com

From the above:

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Proper Renders, incoming:

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Regional Health Hub & Wellness Campus

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Market District

1661568362608.png

Aging in Place District

1661568393773.png

Eco Wellness District

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Biotech and Innovation District

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Centre of Excellence in Sports Medicine

1661568505261.png

Education District

1661568579837.png


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That's all I can fit for this post.

The last 2 are from the Community Presentation, here:

 

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Wow. That is an unbelievable development. It would be considered large for Toronto in Collingwood it’s historical. This would increase the size of the city by 15% in a singular site. This is the type of development people not familiar with the region will find shocking. All the more reason to fast track the development of a Collingwood GO station.
 
Railrunner said:
Wow. That is an unbelievable development. It would be considered large for Toronto in Collingwood it’s historical. This would increase the size of the city by 15% in a singular site. This is the type of development people not familiar with the region will find shocking. All the more reason to fast track the development of a Collingwood GO station.
Click to expand...

So….. wondering where to look for harder numbers….. how does this project compare in density compared to

a) a ”typical” suburban neighbourhood in the GTA eg Mississauga or Ajax or Newmarket
b) Toronto’s residential “yellow belt” ?

Apart from being huge for Collingwood, does it represent leadership in growing in a more compact urban form, or does it just chew up green space at a distance from the GTA?

- Paul
 
Northern Light said:
Ok, we started w/the Renx story, now I've found the website.

poplarhealthandwellnessvillage.com

The Poplar Health and Wellness Village

The Poplar Regional Health & Wellness Village will deliver Ontario’s premier “Base Camp” for Innovative Health & Wellness.
poplarhealthandwellnessvillage.com

From the above:

View attachment 423082

View attachment 423083


Proper Renders, incoming:

View attachment 423084
Regional Health Hub & Wellness Campus

View attachment 423085
Market District

View attachment 423086
Aging in Place District

View attachment 423087
Eco Wellness District

View attachment 423088
Biotech and Innovation District

View attachment 423089
Centre of Excellence in Sports Medicine

View attachment 423090
Education District

View attachment 423091

View attachment 423093

View attachment 423094

That's all I can fit for this post.

The last 2 are from the Community Presentation, here:

Click to expand...
I get that a lot of the statements in these types of proposals are aspirational marketing hype, but it does get my back up when they start out with "underutilized land" - it's growing crop, but that's probably just me.

The last stated position of the government and the hospital is to expand Collingwood General and Marine Hospital on-site, but if the land is donated, it might be an offer they can't refuse, depending on any quid pro quo. Collingwood did have a hold on any new development because of infrastructure capacity limits. As far as I know this has been lifted, but a development this size would have a significant impact.

I'm never quite clear on how developers feel they can create the type of land use 'campuses' as proposed, beyond zoning bylaws, without serious marketing to attract a strong anchor in each to get things rolling, and there are no guarantees. A lot of the proposed centres of excellence involve publicly-funded or at least publicly supported entities. Certain development can spawn similar, or at least synergistic, other occupants and, if the hospital does in fact move to this parcel, it will spin off medical offices, labs, etc. I'm not sure I get the Sports Centre graphic as part of the 'Centre of Excellence in Sports Medicine. As far as I know, Collingwood has two arenas, and an aquatic centre, Stayner has one and Wasaga Beach is just building a new one. All of these are public buildings. Also, no sports fields.

Beyond the pretty pictures, the devil will be in the details.
 
I like it. This particular plot of land has been designated as "For Urban Uses" under the Official Plan since at least 2014, and sits right on the edge of the municipal boundary at RR32. The break from the traditional modern "Growing Canadian Town" approach of only building SFH and big box stores is refreshing to see. I would hope to see more large-scale multi-unit residential developments like this pop up in Collingwood in the near future, considering the relative speed at which it has began to grow as a community.

However, I too remain skeptical of the "office/research" aspect of the proposal. The space for a new Collingwood Hospital campus will be fantastic (the current hospital campus looks to be comically outdated) and should attract some degree of medical/office tenants within the development, but I doubt it would be as much as they are claiming. The architecture is also beautiful in the renderings, but I have my doubts about this turning out looking even remotely like the renderings. I am pretty confident much of this is just going to ultimately consist of typical 5-6 storey midrises with slightly better-looking than average community spaces.
 
ericmacm said:
I like it. This particular plot of land has been designated as "For Urban Uses" under the Official Plan since at least 2014, and sits right on the edge of the municipal boundary at RR32. The break from the traditional modern "Growing Canadian Town" approach of only building SFH and big box stores is refreshing to see. I would hope to see more large-scale multi-unit residential developments like this pop up in Collingwood in the near future, considering the relative speed at which it has began to grow as a community.

However, I too remain skeptical of the "office/research" aspect of the proposal. The space for a new Collingwood Hospital campus will be fantastic (the current hospital campus looks to be comically outdated) and should attract some degree of medical/office tenants within the development, but I doubt it would be as much as they are claiming. The architecture is also beautiful in the renderings, but I have my doubts about this turning out looking even remotely like the renderings. I am pretty confident much of this is just going to ultimately consist of typical 5-6 storey midrises with slightly better-looking than average community spaces.
Click to expand...
Hi Eric, I'm writing an article for the Calgary Herald and would like to interview you about your work in Kelowna on the upcoming increase in condo towers downtown. Could you send me your contact details. Cheers, Scott
 
How expensive would it be to extend the Barrie line to Collingwood?

I assume it would be much easier to build a new station for this district rather then reactivate the historic station downtown, even though it's very nice.
 
LemonCondo said:
How expensive would it be to extend the Barrie line to Collingwood?

I assume it would be much easier to build a new station for this district rather then reactivate the historic station downtown, even though it's very nice.
Click to expand...
Definitely would be as most of the rail infrastructure husband ripped out and turned into Trail space
 
LemonCondo said:
How expensive would it be to extend the Barrie line to Collingwood?

I assume it would be much easier to build a new station for this district rather then reactivate the historic station downtown, even though it's very nice.
Click to expand...

To support rush-hour trains at a station at the south end of Collingwood (in fields) and rebuilding a single track, perhaps $300M? This assumes the base is good and it just needs the track cleaned up. It would be kinda like Barrie South when that station was initially built. The city would likely grow around the station within a decade.

IMO, GO should test this with an hourly bus service first.
 
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