A vision to breathe new life into Orilla's downtown and waterfront is one step closer to reality.
The "Downtown Tomorrow Plan," which was adopted in 2012, would see a number of residential and commercial units developed along Mississaga Street East. This includes the extension of Coldwater Street to Centennial Drive.
"The City of Orillia is expected to grow by about 10,000 people in the next 10 to 15 years and we need a place for those people," says Laura Thompson, manager of real estate and commercial development for Orillia.
According to Mayor Steve Clarke, the city has budgeted for the $20-million design.
"We didn't have to find any new money. We didn't have to burden the taxpayers any money, but we put some other projects that we had on the docket, we just put those off for a few years," says Clarke.
It’s a move business owners in the city applaud. Ron Spencer owns Velocity Cycle and Ski and says the plan would be a good move.
"We want more people to hunt and gather if you will, within a few hundred metres of their residence," says Spencer.
The city says the next steps for the project will be for staff to bring forward an implementation plan. That's expected to be ready by February.
