Barrie’s biggest dig continues, with a little light at the end of the tunnel.
Tucked in behind Allandale’s restored train and operational GO stations, excavation continues on land which sits in development limbo, and has done so for more than the last decade, along Lakeshore Drive near Tiffin Street.
Giant mounds of dirt dominate this landscape, along with heavy digging machinery, for an archaeological investigation, yet this property’s future seems not much closer to being resolved.
Ward 8 Coun. Jim Harris, who represents this area, said the property’s future needs a new starting point.
“For quite some time, the only comment I have received from residents is 'when will the archaeological investigation be complete?' The restoration of the Allandale Station is impressive and it is unfortunate the building has never been actively enjoyed by residents or visitors," he said.
“I have not received comments about ideas for development,” Harris added. “As for the site’s future, I would like to see the area developed in a way that makes it open and accessible to the public, which includes some commercial activity and become an attraction/destination of interest that showcases both the area’s Indigenous and rail history.”
But development of any type on this property — retail, hospitality, recreational, etc. — by the city or in partnership with developers, awaits the archaeological investigation’s completion.
The provincially ordered archaeological assessment and burial site investigation has been ongoing since 2017 on these nine acres, which include the Allandale Waterfront GO station, the restored Allandale Train Station and city property once slated for redevelopment.
Dawn McAlpine, the city’s general manager of community and corporate services, said progress is being made, if slowly.
The city’s contractor, AECOM, is working in partnership with the Huron-Wendat Nation and the Williams Treaties First Nation communities, continuing with the Stage 4 archaeological assessment and burial site investigation required by provincial order.
“The majority of the site has been excavated in previous years by hand and manually screened,” she said. “This has included the excavation and screening of several thousands of cubic metres of soil.”
Last year, the city was permitted by the Huron-Wendat Nation, Williams Treaties First Nation communities and the province to undertake mechanical excavation and screening for the majority of the remainder of the site, for any further ancestral human remains.
“Once utilization of mechanical excavation and screening was authorized by all parties, it was approximately three times faster than manual screening,” McAlpine said. “This year, they are continuing to screen the large piles of previously excavated soil to ensure that any possible ancestral human remains have been recovered.
“There are small areas of the site that require further excavation and screening once the existing piles have been completed. The timeline is dependent on any findings during the screening process and excavation and screening of the smaller remaining areas,” added McAlpine, noting that operations are weather dependent.
So, there is some hope the finish line is in sight.
“Once the excavation and screening of the soil has been completed, a report will be submitted to the province for its review and direction on next steps,” McAlpine said.
The Allandale Historic Train Station development, which includes the archaeological investigation, had an approved budget of $5.8 million in 2015. It was increased by $345,000 last year and now totals $6.145 million. The funding has come from city’s tax capital reserve.
Intact human remains were found on the site in 2011 during the installation of underground services. The Registrar of Burials for the Province opened two burial files and issued orders for burial site investigation of the land in 2017.
During an investigation that year, additional human remains were recovered and reported to the Registrar of Burials as part of the open investigation order on file with the Registrar of Burials, through the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services.
In order to complete the burial site investigation and satisfy the requirements of the Funeral, Burials and Cremation Services Act, further archaeological work must be conducted to identify and remove all interred individuals and to determine the extent, nature and origin of the burial site, and the population affiliation of the individuals recovered from the site.
Once this work is completed and is found to satisfy regulations, it’s expected the Registrar of Burials will issue a site declaration, a site disposition agreement will be negotiated, and the burial site investigation order can be closed.
This land is designated community hub in Barrie’s Official Plan.
It is zoned central area commercial, or C1-1(SP 366), which permits only the following uses in the area south of the building — retail store, restaurant, bank, hotel or hotel building associated with a mixed-use residential, with a minimum gross floor area of 50 per cent for hotel use, offices, private/public art gallery, assembly hall, library, city hall, cultural facility, museum, police station, personal service store, recreational establishment, service store, photo hut, passenger rail station and parking lot associated with a rail/transfer station.
The area in front of the building does not allow for any development except landscaped open space including open-air courtyards, plazas or patios for any restaurant within the historical train station building.
Redevelopment of this site had also been delayed by a number of legal actions, which were resolved in November 2023.
Meanwhile, Barrie’s nearby Allandale Transit Terminal is being built at the corner of Essa Road and Gowan Street, adjacent to the existing GO Transit corridor, to be operational in mid to late 2025.
The new station is to host seamless transit services and connections between Simcoe County, Muskoka and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and be integrated with two-way GO train services, located at the Allandale Waterfront GO station.
The $29.6-million project is 40 per cent funded by the federal government, 33.33 per cent by the province and 26.67 per cent, or $9.2 million, by the city. Of the $29.6-million total cost, $23.5 million is for construction alone, with the remainder for design work, utility fees, site reports and soft costs.
This transit project also involves the downtown mini-hub, which will have bus stops and sheltered waiting areas on Maple Avenue. It will maintain transit service levels there while providing direct access routes to and from the city’s core.
The footprint of the current bus station, located at 24 Maple Ave., will be reduced within the downtown, while maintaining route coverage to support downtown revitalization and provide continued access to busy Barrie destinations.
