As many as 500 jobs could be created by early next year at the Bayview Point Commercial Centre in Barrie.
Located on Bayview Drive near Big Bay Point Road, Mayor Alex Nuttall unveiled the industrial-commercial development Tuesday afternoon, saying it offers easy access to Highway 400, has 39 acres of general industrial space, 25 industrial lots, and has buildings starting at 3,000 square feet available for purchase.
“This will create well-paying jobs for Barrie residents and will save residents from spending hours commuting to and from the GTA (Greater Toronto Area),” he said.
Jobs created could include light manufacturing, construction-related positions, specialty tech, and possibly automotive.
“When we have the amount of vehicles heading to Toronto every single day, it’s not just that the folks have to drive to Toronto, but if you think of it this way, every morning instead of being with their kids, getting them ready for school, they’re on the highway,” Nuttall said. “And every evening instead of being there for dinner, they’re on the highway.
“We want to create a city where, at 7:30 a.m., you’re hanging with your family and at 7:30 p.m., you’re hanging with your family, not one where you’re hanging out on the 400," he added.
The mayor said Barrie’s need for industrial land is great, that the city does not have enough industrial land here that’s serviced and ready for development.
“We need to make sure that we have the opportunity for Barrie businesses to grow,” Nuttall said, “and we need to make sure that we have the opportunity for those businesses that want to be in Barrie to actually be able to locate here.”
Barrie-Innisfil MPP Andrea Khanjin also stressed the importance of more local jobs.
“We need houses, but we also need jobs for people to actually be able to leave their home and go somewhere local to work,” she said. “As much as we’re building good highway infrastructure, not everyone wants to spend all their time commuting and we need to find a way to pull people back in their communities, so finally they can live and work in the place they call home.
“It’s the quality of life they’re going to have, it’s their health that’s going to be better because they’re sitting less," the MPP added.
Nuttall also said this would be the first time the city has used its new ecological offsetting policy, which uses the money collected from tree removal permit processes to plant more trees.
“(It) will help further beautify Barrie … through naturalization of reforestation projects,” he said. “These changes are a huge step forward to help the city achieve stronger environmental regulations and allow our city to thrive as we grow.
“Based on the changes that we’ve made, there will be three times the amount of trees planted in the city of Barrie due to this policy change than there would have been through the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority,” Nuttall added. “That’s a huge win.”
T. J. Rinomato, from the development company RGC, said he hoped to have asphalt down by the end of the year and businesses opening in the first quarter of 2024.
“I believe we haven’t seen a new subdivision of this size and scope for almost 20 years up here, and it’s time that we create jobs,” he said.
“Travelling two hours a day is not what life should be. Life should be about working where you live and living where you work," Rinomato added. “This is going to be one of the first eco-friendly industrial subdivisions built in Barrie.”
RGC and Tonlu Properties are the developers and agents of Bayview Point Commercial Centre.
