Oro Station land use planning approved

04.11.2019

The Province of Ontario are cutting the red tape to help pave the way for the proposed Oro Station automotive, innovation, testing and research facility in Oro-Medonte.

Developer Geoffrey Campbell (centre) announced the details of Oro Station during a press conference at which the province said it was cutting red tape to help pave the way for the project.

Driven were tasked by the principals of Oro Station to develop a concept for a 212 acre multi-use automotive destination. The brief was to conceive a plan that supports the provinces continued growth in the automotive sector, which represents 15% of the North America market, whilst also meeting the demands of the wide reaching car enthusiast and collector market across Ontario.

The resulting design includes a multi-configuration 4.2km track, skid pad, kick plates, manufacturer courtyard, business park and a car storage facility.

Driving the project are Geoffrey Campbell and business partner Daniel Gallo of Oro Station Development Co. Campbell is recognizable to Orillia-area residents as managing partner of Oakleigh Developments, the firm behind Matchedash Lofts.

Early renders of what the Oro Station track could look like.

He said the innovation park “will provide opportunities for emerging technologies to be developed here in Ontario.”

The site for the proposed facility is located within the Lake Simcoe Regional Airport economic employment district.

Mayor Harry Hughes said the measure would permit development “that has been stalled for many years to move forward, creating new jobs.” The order was made at the request of the township and the County of Simcoe.

Campbell said he hopes to break ground in the spring and have the operation running by 2021.

The facility is expected to create more than 700 full-time jobs and 1,800 construction jobs. “I would say that, at the very earliest, you would see 100 (jobs), and in five years it will be fully built out,” Campbell added.

Without the minister’s zoning order, “it would have been a very long process,” Campbell said, adding his company had undertaken much of the required environmental reporting and geotechnical work prior to putting forward its case.

Some quick facts about the development

The site for the proposed facility is within the Lake Simcoe Regional Airport Economic Employment District as set out in the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe.
The Planning Act authorizes the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to make zoning orders for regulating the use of land and the location, use, height, size and spacing of buildings and structures. This zoning order was made at the request of Simcoe County and the Township of Oro-Medonte so the land can be used for automotive-related employment.
The Oro-Medonte Automotive Innovation Park could support more than 50 per cent of the job growth forecasted for Oro-Medonte to 2031.

Stay tuned for more information as the project progresses over the coming months.

Selected words and imagery by Simcoe.com and Ontario.ca via https://www.simcoe.com/news-story/9673214-planned-vehicle-testing-facility-in-oro-medonte-promises-700-jobs/ and https://news.ontario.ca/mma/en/2019/11/ontario-cutting-red-tape-to-help-create-jobs-in-simcoe-county.html