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Orillia,
Ontario
Future-proofing the ‘Sunshine City’
WW W . ORILLIA. CA
Orillia,
Ontario
Future-proofing
the ‘Sunshine City’
“I don’t know whether you know Mariposa. If not, it is of no consequence, for if you
know Canada at all, you are probably well acquainted with a dozen towns just like
it.” Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town (1912) is a well-known portrait of small-
town Ontario, reputedly drawn from the author, Stephen Leacock’s experiences
in Orillia. That’s actually how the municipality, which sits on the shores of Lake
Simcoe and Lake Couchiching in Simcoe County, came to earn the moniker
“Sunshine City” and why several local businesses (plus one widely celebrated folk
festival) have embraced the “Mariposa” name. Respectfully, Sunshine paints small
towns with a broad brush, and Orillia – a city as old as Canada itself – is memorably
different. There is nowhere else “just like it.”
Located just 90 minutes north of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Orillia became
a commercial centre and summer resort in the mid-19th century. Today, the city’s
character is captured in many of those century-old buildings – red brick trimmed
with limestone quarried from the old Longford sawmill. Orillia’s heritage theme
plays into its overall mood; the lumber, mercantile, and carriage industries have
all left their indelible mark. “We have a beautiful atmosphere in the City of Orillia,”
AT A GLANCE
ORILLIA, ONTARIO
WHAT: “The Sunshine City”; population 31,000
WHERE: Simcoe County, Ontario
WEBSITE: www.orillia.ca
ORI L L I A, O N TA R I O
says Mayor Steve Clarke. “The building we’re in raise children here. There is a brand new OPP
right now [City Hall] is the old Tudhope factory. Detachment that serves the needs of the City
They started out making carriages in the 1800s, of Orillia and surrounding townships, as well as
then switched over to automobiles in 1908.” the Central Region Headquarters, and the OPP’s
General Headquarters. We recently opened the
By the 1900s, Orillia was one of the most biggest investment the municipality has made in
bustling towns in Ontario, gaining new the city – a $56 million recreation centre.”
dimension with cultural and residential
buildings (the Geneva Theatre, the Stephen The long-awaited and impressive
Leacock House), landmarks (the Sir Samuel 132,000-square-foot facility opened its doors
Steele Clock Tower, the Champlain Monument), on Oct. 26, 2020, after two years of construction
and green spaces (Couchiching Beach Park). and pandemic-related delays. Although Orillia
is what most would consider a small urban
“We have a waterfront that truly is the envy centre (the last census puts their population
of many communities,” says Clarke. “We have a at about 31,000) the Mayor reports that with
wonderful trail system which meanders over 20 most of their amenities now in place, the city
kilometers throughout the city and waterfront. is starting to feel more mature. Ian Sugden,
We have a welcoming and vibrant heritage General Manager of Development Services
downtown. Our iconic Opera House, which is and Engineering, notes, “We’re striving to be a
well over 100 years old. A state-of-the-art library. complete community. To add all the range of
An award-winning regional hospital. We’ve got services and facilities that people want. Orillia
two post-secondary education institutions in sits at the intersection of Highways 11 and 12,
town: Lakehead University and Georgian College. so it’s a crossroads for a lot of the population
That’s very appealing to people who want to that’s south of here. We’re trying to make this a
Opera House and Library
A R E IM AGI NED ORI L LI A
WATERFRONT EXPERIENCE
Delivering Your Community Vision
Orillia’s waterfront is a civic is reduced. The overall park With overwhelming positive
treasure. It is the iconic jewel of redevelopment strategy, as support from the public and
the Trent-Severn Waterway and approved by Council, focuses on Council city staff have been
valued amongst residents and the preservation of the park as a directed to incorporate the
visitors alike. It offers a range cohesive linkage of Couchiching proposed Waterfront Plan into
of amenities, spatial programs, Beach, Centennial and Veterans’ the 10-year capital plan. Staff
and circulation options focused Memorial Parks as well as an
was also directed to initiate the
along the waterfront. animated waterfront. The Lake
presentation of priority projects
Couchiching lakefront and its
during Budget deliberations for
Demands for green space will Waterfront Master Plan offers
only increase as development a unique sense of place and review and consideration. The
expands in the city, as density expands the recreational offerings future is bright for the Orillia
increases, and as land availability for residents and visitors alike. waterfront!
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O RIL L IA , O N TA RIO
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Working closely with allied disciplines,
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site. Our work focuses on multi-scale
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space. We design meaningful environments
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vision and representative of their context,
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......
For more information,
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www.STUDIOtla.com Mayor Steve Clarke
place they’d choose to stop and visit, maybe even
stay long-term.”
One thing the COVID-19 pandemic has
illuminated has been the opportunities in Orillia
for those looking to relocate. “The quality of life
here, it really is second to none,” says Clarke.
“Years ago, young people couldn’t wait to get
out of high school and move away for post-
secondary, or to find a job. That has all changed
in the last ten or 15 years. There’s even data, pre-
COVID, suggesting that millennials are making
decisions about where to live based more on
quality of life than on the actual job. The job
is still important, but it’s not the number one
criterion.”
From an employment perspective, Orillia has
a proud industrial heritage, with many past
foundries and factories that produced products
that served the diverse needs of national
defense, mining and the automotive sector.
However, the modern-day city has moved to
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ORI L L I A, O N TA R I O a more institutional economic base, its most significant employers being Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital and the OPP General Headquarters. Years ago, Orillia also made the investment to attract Lakehead University in hopes of changing the demographics of the city and creating more job opportunities. “Traditionally, we’ve seen a bit of a migration to Orillia from people in their mid-50s and 60s,” says Clarke. “And that’s still happening. But it’s really happening in people in their late 20s and 30s now. We’ve already had several businesses open up whose owners are in their 20s and 30s. It’s added a lot of vibrancy.” Gayle Jackson, Chief Administrative Officer, admits she’s amazed at the development she’s seen over the last seven years, noting, “We’ve had a very progressive Council wanting to facilitate progress in our community. We’ve made some strong, strategic choices such as moving ahead with and completing our recreation facility on a brownfield site and we’ve finalized a significant deal with Hydro One.” The deal, which involved Chief Administrative Officer, Gayle Jackson the sale of the Orillia Power Distribution
Corporation to Hydro One Inc., will result in
hundreds of well-paying jobs coming to Orillia
and $200 to $300 million in near-term economic
impact.
“Hydro One came to Orillia in June of 2015
wanting to purchase our electric distribution
system,” says Clarke. “We said, ‘Thank you very
much, but no thank you.’ So, they offered to
build a regional operation center to control the
electricity within this area, as well as a provincial
warehouse. To that proposal, they added a grid
control center. It was going to be a backup grid
Hydro One under construction control center for the province, now it’s going
to be the primary.” That investment alone would
represent north of $150 million in construction
value for the City of Orillia. “It’s economic
development, it’s job creation, it’s economic
spinoff within the community,” adds Clarke. “And
those jobs are really high-quality jobs.”
As an adjunct to the Hydro One deal, Orillia is
in the final throes of having high-speed internet
installed through Bell Canada’s fibre network –
an investment in the tens of millions of dollars.
With so many businesses going remote during
the pandemic, the Mayor is confident this will
allow many capabilities moving forward as more
and more people start to take advantage of
the transition to technology industries. Another
Bell Canada’s Fiber Network
exciting project is the Horne Business Park
expansion, on the western edge of the city. “We
are offering 25 full-service acres of employment
land for market,” Jackson explains. “We’re also
providing an incentive for development on
employment lands in the park by waiving
industrial development charges until the end of
2021.”
Over the last five years, the City of Orillia has
seen a record number of building permits each
year, both commercial and residential. According
to Sugden, it’s because Orillia has nexus with
the surrounding townships. He shares, “We are
the urban centre that provides all the services
that people in the townships need. That’s
Matchedash Lofts why we have the modern library, why we’ve
opened a major recreation centre, and why we
ORI L L I A, O N TA R I O
The Atlas Corporation:
Building A Better
Tomorrow
have housing growth here. And, as the Mayor
suggested, COVID-19 is introducing a whole new
factor in the real estate market. Driving more
people to places such as Orillia because they’ve
figured out they can work from anywhere. We’ve
become more attractive because of that.”
Sugden’s department oversees the replacement
and construction of the city’s linear assets:
roads, pipes, sewers, storm water management
At The Atlas Corporation, we take pride in what facilities, etc. He’s noticed that Council, over the
we build for our neighbouring communities. We past several years, has made some substantial
are proud to be the constructors of the Orillia investments into those reserves, putting up
Recreation Centre offering a better tomorrow for
the local residents of Orillia. With over 65 years of
funding for significant road rehabilitation
experience and comprehensive knowledge of the projects and readying Orillia to support urban
construction industry we have been able to deliver residential infill and intensification. One of those
a level of quality and service that is unsurpassed in renewal projects involves the reconstruction
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any construction project. of Front Street. “By its name, it was the original
front side of Orillia,” says Sugden. “It was the first
road by the water where the railways came in.
Visit atlascorp.com to learn more It’s at the heart of our downtown, but it’s one of
our oldest streets with the oldest infrastructure.”
The City recently completed the second andfinal phase of that reconstruction, which is
about $9.5 million in scope. “That’s a full road
reconstruction,” Sugden adds. “Improved water/
sewer infrastructure, and some relocation of a
major trunk sewer, which is intended, by design,
to free up future development opportunities in
the surrounding neighborhood. Plans have also
been approved to alter the streetscape in that
area by sacrificing a vehicular lane to improve
the pedestrian environment. What we’ve learned
through COVID is that it’s more important than
ever that people have space to move around
each other safely. The wider sidewalks and
smarter streetscape are helping to future-proof
us for that type of thing.”
These infrastructure improvements help set
the stage for future opportunities, such as the
redevelopment of the municipally-owned lands
at 70 Front St. N. which are being sold through a
Request for Proposal process to help transform
the area and better connect the downtown
with the waterfront. The City has also launched
General Manager of Development Services and Engineering,
Ian SugdenORI L L I A, O N TA R I O
an Economic Recovery Task Force to help
Orillia recover economically, and socially, from
the impact of COVID-19. “Council earmarked
$100,000 for lead social agencies in town
should they need to help, and another million
dollars for economic recovery initiatives, which
will probably occur over this year and next,” says
Clarke.
At one point, Orillia may have been a well-
kept secret but not anymore. As Mayor Clarke
attests, “I really believe we’re second to none.
Our people are probably our greatest asset. In
2019, we won an award called the Cooperate
Communities Award. It was issued to the Ontario
municipality that was the most caring, giving,
and philanthropic in the province, but it also had
to have a vibrant arts and culture community,
which we certainly do. One more thing I’m really
happy to see as Mayor are the different cultures
being drawn to Orillia. The people, the food, the
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www.studiotla.ca
We are Landscape Architects, Urban Designers and Master Planners with a passion for design. We create
meaningful spatial experiences that connect people to the places they live, work and play. We believe
we have a responsibility to design with innovation, creativity, and technical excellence. We are millennials,
baby-boomers, writers, musicians, animal lovers, athletes, travelers, environmentalists, parents, artists…we
are STUDIO tla.
STUDIO tla is an outgrowth of Terraplan Landscape Architects 40-year history and is very much grounded
in Terraplan’s earned reputation for technical excellence and client service while providing a
comprehensive approach to the design and delivery of complex urban environments.
We believe that urban design and landscape architecture are systems-based disciplines that are integrated
components of the larger designed environment. Working closely with allied disciplines, we are guided
by a deep understanding of social, cultural, economic, political, and environmental factors relevant to each
site. Our work focuses on multi-scale landscape infrastructures and the urban interface between
architecture and open space. We design meaningful environments for mixed-use and residential projects,
parks, streetscapes, and civic spaces. We create landscapes that are unique in their vision and representative
of their context, technically excellent, and detailed with innovative methods and materiality.
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