Innisfil town council has endorsed a futuristic design for the new GO train station on Line 6 that will form the heart of the new Mobility Orbit transit-centred planned community, largely on land owned by the Cortel Group.
“This is a vision we’re getting more and more familiar with,” said Tim Cane, the town's director of growth, while describing the Orbit as an “aspirational plan for development” over the next 50 years.
But it is not, Cane said, “anything that will be happening tomorrow.”
The exception is the GO station, however. The town wants construction to begin by 2022.
The Orbit is a planned city of concentric rings with the station in its heart.
Alex Josephson, of Partisans Group, described the proposed greenfield site as “the future of transit in Canada. It’s an extraordinary opportunity to build a future on a blank slate. There are very few places in the world that have this opportunity… As ambitious a community as you are, this is yours.
“This is about ignition, about building a new centre for a community that doesn’t necessarily have one. It’s all about inspiration," he added.
Josephson presented drawings of a city centre encircling the GO transit station, inspired by the Ponte Vecchio in Italy: a bridge spanning the Arno River that includes residential and retail space.
In Innisfil, "instead of the Arno, we have the GO train — a steel river.”
While the station itself must meet the “stringent and intense” requirements of Metrolinx, which operates the GO trains — including parking for 500 vehicles, bus loops, and a passenger drop-off area. The vision of the surrounding ‘city centre” proposes amenities, high-density residential, institutional uses, and the creation of public spaces.
A roof over the station would not only provide shelter, but possible seating and green space – similar to Toronto’s proposed Rail Deck park – to be surrounded by stores, workplaces, cultural amenities, and residential.
“The station has to work, but it also has to be poetic,” Josephson told council. “The roof of the station isn’t just a roof, it’s something more.”
Cortel Group, which owns the surrounding land, is already adjusting its plans to integrate some of the later phases of the Sleeping Lion development with the proposal, council was told.
Josephson suggested that within 200 metres of the station, the focus would be on mid- to highrise residential buildings, although he acknowledged, “the market in this community is unknown.”
Phase 1 would see construction of the GO station and some higher-density residential.
“The whole Orbit is conceived as a walkable, bike-able city… a concentric garden city plan,” he said.
Following Josephson’s presentation, council received a detailed staff report and also heard a deputation from architect Steven Kirshenblatt.
Kirshenblatt, former partner at Kirkor Architects and Planners, a firm specializing in large-scale urban intensification projects, sounded a warning. The 6th Line “is not a blank slate. It’s part of who we are, it’s part of what we are,” he said, referring to a rural and agricultural community.
As an architect, Kirshenblatt said over the past 40 years he had seen other “larger and more sophisticated” cities attempt to implement all the “goals and all the ideas” of intensification.
“Why this town is trying to tackle this type of concept, when all this town is really trying to do is secure a GO stop on the line between Barrie and Toronto. It is going way beyond the Official Plan," he said.
Kirshenblatt pointed out the town’s Official Plan designates Innisfil Beach Road and Alcona as the town centre.
“Innisfil Beach Road is our prime main street where development should happen,” he said. “Why… this Orbit idea has to be so tied into the GO station happening is a set-up and a trap.”
He questioned whether Cortel Group “really and fully intends to spend the mega-millions to pull off the design that we’ve seen tonight,” noting the kind of growth envisioned usually happens naturally in response to market demand.
“There is no economic sense in what is being proposed," he said, noting it's a "minor stop" on the Barrie rail line.
Kirshenblatt urged the town to develop a secondary plan for the land that is currently outside the Official Plan, slow down the process, and get more public input on a vision that could see Innisfil eventually grow to 150,000 people.
Kirshenblatt asked: “Is this the right process? Are we committing this town to something that we will regret forever? And are we changing the character and nature of my rural countryside?”
He suggested Barrie is the most appropriate location for such intensification.
“This is not smart growth in this location," Kirshenblatt added. "This is raping the countryside. It is a group’s intent to create a utopia and a fantasy land that only Mr. Disney can create, and not a reality at all.”
He called on council to take another look. "This is nuts. I have a really bad feeling about where this is all leading.”
Cane confirmed that the vision includes growth to a population of 150,000 people “over the longer term."
An Official Plan amendment, including public input, and planning approvals are needed before the Orbit development can proceed.
While the initial Orbit vision was funded entirely by the town, looking at a transit-oriented community model, Cane said the cost of the GO station will be funded by developers, front-end financing, and possible infrastructure grants. However, the town will pay part of the cost of consulting and design.
“We’re getting artists’ renditions. We’re not getting anything concrete,” said Deputy Mayor Dan Davidson, questioning whether any developer would come up with the “$60 to $100 million” to make the concept a reality. “This Orbit sounds exciting, but I don’t know if it is realistic.”
“So far, all we’ve seen are sketches, renderings and concepts. I don’t know what they’re going to build,” said Coun. Bill Van Berkel, pointing out the concept may change “100 times before it is built."
Van Berkel said the design will be up to Metrolinx and the developer, not the town.
Council was asked to endorse the plan, which would allow staff to move ahead on the design and construction of the GO station.
Coun. Donna Orsatti proposed deferring the vote until August, giving residents an opportunity to comment.
“The design seems way out there. It seems like a Jetson’s design,” she said.
But Town of Innisfil CAO Jason Reynar pushed for an immediate vote to keep the process moving, including a strategic action plan in September and fast-tracking of planning approvals.
“We’re showing what could be possible. It’s a very aspirational exercise,” said Reynar, which would allow Innisfil “to write our own destiny of growth” with a GO train station paid for by the developer and not taxpayers.
Reynar suggested the town was lucky to have an opportunity to participate in the station design and “centre of mass” of the Orbit, through the working group.
The CAO also noted the project has other ramifications, including the widening of Line 6, a new Line 6 interchange at Highway 400, and new wastewater infrastructure.
“We wanted to decide how we wanted to grow,” said Mayor Lynn Dollin, who supported the Orbit plan. “We didn’t want growth to happen to us.”
Coun. Alex Waters noted the only reason a developer would build a transit centre “is because the developer can make money at it” through higher-density development. He worried that the process was moving forward without a secondary plan to regulate the approximately 75 per cent of land included in the ‘vision’ that are currently outside of the Official Plan.
Cane agreed that a secondary plan would be normally developed first, but to accelerate construction of the GO station, the planning piece is being developed concurrently.
The town is "focusing on the station design to get that started… and the secondary plan and the policy statement can catch up to that,” he said.
Reynar warned that deferral could delay the station.
Coun. Rob Nicol to urge council to “get this thing on the road right now, get this thing rolling.”
“We’re not paying for this," said Waters, adding the project is being driven by the developer and Metrolinx. "(By) delaying this, what we’re showing the developer is we have cold feet. We want a GO station and we want something better than what everyone else has.”
The motion to defer was defeated.
Council voted to begin implementing the Orbit vision, directing staff to go ahead with municipal reviews and permissions to advance detailed design and construction of the Orbit station and surrounding area, with a projected 2022 start to construction.
The town had originally budgeted more than $5.4 million for the GO station. Now that developers will cover the cost, a staff report suggests the money could be used instead for community amenities at the station.
