Innisfil 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 lands owned by the Cortel Group.
“This is a vision we’re getting more and more familiar with,” said Director of Growth Tim Cane, describing the Orbit as an “aspirational plan for development” over the next 50 years.
It is not, Cane said, “anything that will be happening tomorrow.”
The exception is the GO station. The town wants construction to begin by 2022.
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.”
He added, “This is about ignition, about building a new centre for a community that doesn’t necessarily have one. It’s all about inspiration.”
Josephson presented drawings of a futuristic city centre, encircling the GO transit station, inspired by the Ponte Vecchio in Italy, he said – 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, 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, even 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.”
The Orbit is a planned city of concentric rings, with the station in its heart. Cortel Group, which owns the surrounding lands, is already adjusting 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 midrise to high-rise 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, sending the invitation: “Come and live and work here – and we have the public transit system to get there!”
Following Josephson’s presentation, council received a staff report, providing greater detail – and a delegation by 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 – a rural, agricultural community.
As an architect, Kirshenblatt said that 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, and asked, “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.”
Kirshenblatt pointed out that 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 that the kind of growth envisioned usually happens organically, in response to market demand.
“There is no economic sense in what is being proposed, to so integrate a rail station, a minor stop on the Barrie to Toronto GO line, at this location right now,” he said.
Kirshenblatt urged the town to develop a secondary plan for the lands that are currently outside of the Official Plan, slow down the process, and get more public input on a vision that would see Innisfil eventually grow to 150,000 people.
“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?” Kirshenblatt asked, suggesting that Barrie is the most appropriate location for intensification.
“This is not Smart Growth in this location. This is raping the countryside,” he said. “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 of150,000 people “over the longer term… The town is going to grow and grow and grow.”
He also confirmed that there is a need for an Official Plan Amendment and “formal planning approvals” before the development of the Orbit can proceed, including opportunities for public input.
While the initial Orbit vision was funded entirely by the town, looking at a transit-oriented community model, Cane confirmed that moving forward, the cost of the GO Station will be funded by developers, front-end financing, and possible infrastructure grants – although the town, through a consultants’ agreement, 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 artists’ conception a reality. “This Orbit sounds exciting, but I don’t know if it is realistic.”
“So far all we’ve seen are sketches, rendering and concepts. I don’t know what they’re going to build,” said Coun. Bill Van Berkel, pointing out that the concept may change “100 times before it is built” – and that the design will be up to Metrolinx and the developer, not the town.
Council was asked to endorse the vision, to allow staff to move ahead and facilitate “the design and construction” of the GO Station.
Coun. Donna Orsatti proposed deferring the vote until the August meeting of council, slowing the process and giving residents an opportunity to comment. “The design seems way out there. It seems like a Jetson’s design,” she said.
But Chief Administrative Officer Jason Reynar pushed for an immediate vote, to keep the process moving forward – 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,” Reynar said, an attempt on the part of Innisfil “to write our own destiny of growth,” with a GO train station paid for by the developer, not the taxpayer.
Reynar suggested that the town was lucky to have an opportunity to participate in the design of the station and “centre of mass” of the Orbit, through the working group. “We are thankful we get to participate in that design,” he said.
Reynar also noted that the project has other ramifications – including the widening of Line 6, a new 6th Line interchange at Highway 400, and new wastewater infrastructure, “all of the various pieces that are related to this development.”
“We wanted to decide how we wanted to grow,”said Mayor Lynn Dollin, supporting the Orbit. “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 percent of lands included in the ‘vision’ that are currently outside of the Official Plan.
“Should we not have the guidelines?” Waters said. “I am concerned we’re going to negotiate all the things we want to have before we even get the secondary 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 – leading 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. This is a developer-driven, this is a Metrolinx-driven project. Delaying this, what we’re showing the developer is we have cold feet,” agreed Coun. Waters. “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 facilitate town “reviews and permissions to advance detailed design and construction of the Orbit station and surrounding centre of mass,” with a projected 2022 start to construction.
The town solicitor was directed to work on legal agreements that include a Joint Consultant Agreement, regarding station design.
The Town of Innisfil had originally budgeted over $5.4 million for the GO Station. Now that developers will cover the cost, a staff report suggests the money could be used for community amenities at the station.
So far, the town has spent $91,000 on internal staff time, fees to Partisans, and Gordon and Gordon for the Orbit design. A joint consultant agreement with Cortel Group will see the town pay a portion of project management costs, the design team, and peer review costs.
And although no price tag was provided for the ‘vision,’ the staff report notes that “the Mobility Orbit represents a multi-billion dollar project for the town.”
