Barrie waterfront development draws fire at meeting

Harmony Village drew a crowd Monday, just maybe not the audience it wanted.

People filled the Council Chamber at Barrie City Hall for a marathon public meeting on a rezoning application for the huge, proposed residential/retail-plus development near the waterfront.

With five towers ranging from 22-31 storeys, Harmony Village would have 1,255 units in high-rises and townhouses for 3,000 residents, a hotel, dinner theatre, community centre, medical offices and wellness centre on the 6.8-acre site. There are also to be pathways and public spaces surrounded by shops, restaurants and cafes at 51-83 Bradford St. and 20 Checkley St., along with a new road connecting Bradford to Lakeshore Drive.

Monday's message from residents is it's too much - in terms of height, density, traffic, shadowing, noise, etc. And not enough parking.

Don Hamilton represents a couple of dozen residents of nearby Grand Harbour and said Harmony Village would largely complete the neighbourhood, but it should align with the existing high-rises of about 16 storeys.

"We don't believe this project should be designed to overwhelm and over-shadow the existing developments," he said.

Gary Bell, a Barrie land use planner, said the project is an over-intensification of the property.

"It's a scale of development well above what is desired or intended or needed on Bradford Street," he said.

"We have seen the tall towers of Toronto," said Nancy Quinlan of Toronto Street's Grand Harbour. "But we're Barrie, we're not Toronto."

Lorne MacDonald, who lives on nearby Ellen Street, said Harmony Road is not needed, that the area doesn't require two more intersections.

And he says the development is too big for the land there.

"They're trying to put a size 12 foot into a size six shoe," he said. "The only open space they are proposing to leave is Harmony Road."

Brent Clarkson, who lives in the Nautica tower on Ellen Street, said development projects need to fit in with the character of a neighbourhood - and that's more than design, height and building materials.

"This project fails in any reasonable sensitivity test," he said, noting traffic and noise concerns as well. "It requires substantial modifications."

"They seem to want to put green space inside for the residents, pavement outside for their neighbours," said Robert Bishop of Ellen Street.

"They should have to prove to the city that they need to go higher and that there are municipal benefits," said Ian Rowe, who lives at Bayshore Landing, two towers of 15 storeys on Dunlop Street West. "Make sure all the pie-in-the-sky stuff gets into the zoning bylaw."

But all the comments about Harmony Village Monday were not negative.

Jill Price, who owns businesses in the downtown, said this type of intensification is the future.

"They're looking at developing the site in a creative way and a memorable way," she said. "This is the way we need to move. . .to better life in the downtown core."

Price said the downtown needs the people, the shoppers, to thrive.

Most residents who spoke Monday acknowledged this property will be developed, but wanted to limit its impact on the neighbouring community.

Coun. Lynn Strachan, who represents this area, was unhappy with the applicant's initial presentation as it related to relief from city bylaws - for height, setbacks, etc.

"They have come here with a vague proposal for a site-specific rezoning, but not the rationale," she said. "We didn't get a lot of information about the zoning proposal."

An official from Harmony Village then quoted from a report that had been submitted to the city.

But Mayor Jeff Lehman wasn't satisfied.

"What is the planning rationale for towers that are twice as high as are allowed?" he asked.

Lehman didn't get a clear answer - other than there is no particular rationale for any height, or height limit.

Harmony Village would be geared toward those 55 years old, and older, although not exclusively. It carries a $600-million price tag over eight years for the project, with towers ranging from 22-31 storeys. It would employ nearly 6,300 people to build, generate $8.2 million in annual property taxes and create 874 full-time jobs. At more than two million square feet in total size, it would also include nearly 1,300 parking spaces.

Depending on city approvals, shovels could be in the ground for Harmony Village in 2014.

The developer acquired this property from the proponents of Blue Simcoe Development, a project which was to include towers of 24 and 25 storeys, and 595 residential units.

The property is currently zoned transition centre commercial and environmental protection, which is site specific for the former development plan.

Harmony Village-Lake Simcoe Inc. wants to amend Zoning By-law 2009-141 to create a new site specific zoning bylaw to reflect its development plans.

Site plan control for this property has been delegated to city planning staff, although it could be 'bumped up' to a council decision if that's the wish of Barrie councillors. The site plan will likely be discussed at tonight's public meeting.

Once it's held, the rezoning application goes to city planning staff for a report to Barrie councillors, who decide whether it is accepted, rejected or changed.

Other plans are also afoot for this part of Barrie.

A centre for excellence in education is being proposed on 11 acres of land which includes Barrie Central Collegiate, Red Storey Field and the former Prince of Wales School.

Development of secondary and post-secondary institutional uses there, along with commercial and residential uses, would allow Central to be rebuilt and the development of a university campus, with student residences.

Laurentian University wants to build a campus in the city's downtown, and Barrie council is onside – although this still requires provincial approval. - BBRUTON Barrie EXAMINER

Barrie: City may spend $10M on software to save big money down the road

Mayor Jeff thinks our City is "in the dark ages". Here's what happened at City Council the other night...

The city could spend millions to save both money and improve its core information systems.

Barrie councillors gave initial approval Monday to the business case for enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and its systems.

The estimate to buy the software, design it and install it is approximately $10 million, and it will take three years to fully implement. Plus it will cost $320,000 annually to operate, starting in 2015.

Benefits are estimated at $15.5 million for the city during the next decade, including expected cost reductions worth $12.5 million for goods and services purchases. 

ERP is software to replace many stand-alone systems and manual work processes, and integrates these functions into an automated system based on a centralized database accessible across the corporation.

"The city's core information systems no longer meet its needs, and to properly manage an organization with more than $3 billion in assets under its control, annual spending in the $300-million range, and significant growth costs on the horizon, an ERP is necessary," said Ed Archer, Barrie's general manager of corporate services.

"We're in the dark ages. We are still operating like a small town," said Mayor Jeff Lehman. "This one's a no-brainer for me."

City CAO Carla Ladd said it was like comparing a bank with lineups and deposit slips to one with debit cards and ATMs.

"It isn't if we do this system, it's when we do this system," she said of the ERP. "There are so many benefits."

Ladd mentioned ERP would virtually eliminate paperwork and could cut service delivery by two-thirds.

Only Coun. Bonnie Ainsworth spoke and voted against ERP, saying she didn't want to approve the spending until she sees the 2013 capital budget, which is debated in January.

She said the city might have other priorities.

"We have a crumbling infrastructure in this city," Ainsworth said. "There are 33 kilometres of roads that need to be constructed.

"I don't feel the decision should be made in isolation of the impact on the business plan and long-range plans." 

But the other councillors wanted to go ahead

"I don't see any downside," Coun. Barry Ward said. "Just because there is something you can't touch or you can't see or drive on, that doesn't mean it isn't a valuable investment."

"The timing dictates that we move forward, especially with the annexed (former Innisfil) lands," said Coun. John Brassard, of the south-Barrie property that will be developed during the next decades.

Currently, Barrie's financial system consists of separate, non-integrated systems requiring expensive and inefficient manual steps to complete transactions. City staff says it does not not meet the business needs of Barrie residents, customers or employees.

These information systems are fragmented, incomplete and don't provide timely information. This means service levels are lower and less efficient than they could be, because work processes and information systems are incapable of meeting demands placed upon them.

These inefficiencies are not readily apparent now because city staff make the extra effort to address information needs, but that can't last.

Archer says ERP will eventually fix these inefficiencies.

"This will increase the assurance that decisions about residents' tax dollars are based on the best available information in a timely way," he said. "And staff will have better information for program management and oversight. The risk of cost overruns on projects or inadequate service levels because plans did not accurately predict how things would actually work will be much lower." 

The city budgeted $450,000 for a business case study about how ERP would support specific corporate information needs, processes and service capacity.

Archer said less than half that amount was spent on the report presented Monday by Deloitte & Touche LLP, a London firm.

ERP funding is included in the city's capital budget.

Council will consider final approval of a motion to move ahead with this plan at its Dec. 17 meeting.

Transit linking Barrie, Angus and CFB Borden

Transit linking Barrie, Angus and CFB Borden may soon be a reality

ESSA TWP. - Next stop: Angus? 

Residents of Barrie, Angus and CFB Borden may soon have another option when it comes to travel between the three communities.

A bus route linking them is being considered and Essa Township Mayor Terry Dowdall is thrilled with the idea.

“We’re doing studies to see what the ridership could possibly be (and) looking for a funding model,” he said, Thursday. “It’s an exciting time. Both communities are growing and it would be good for everybody. It gives everyone options and hopefully gets some of the cars off Highway 90,” he said. “It’s a win, win, win for all three parties, but it’s up to people if they embrace it. Ridership will determine the service.

“The goal is for Jan. 1, 2013. We’re hopeful,” he added.

The initial idea is to provide a limited service — peak periods during the morning and afternoon rush hour only — and potentially one or two trips in the middle of the day as well, according to Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman. He said the idea was originally raised by former Base Commander, Gen. Louis Meloche, when he and Lehman got together during an introductory meeting early last year. Dowdall was quickly on board and there have been informal discussions with county staff.

Essa, Barrie and the base have contributed to an internal draft service plan and the Barrie mayor expects it will be part of a council report once the plan is finalized.

“Barrie council identified service partnerships with neighbouring municipalities as a priority in December 2010, in the first week of the (new) term, so the suggestion was perfectly in line with our priorities as a council,” Lehman said, adding there are 900 permanent base personnel who live in Barrie, and hundreds more military personnel who are on rotation in various training programs at the base.

“Borden is Canada’s largest training base so it has a large population of personnel who live in our area while taking training programs of varying lengths at the base,” he said. “So we know there are at least 1,000 people every day going from Barrie to Borden. Also, there is a lot of traffic between Angus and Barrie, which could provide additional potential riders for the service.”

Lehman said the service would use Barrie Transit buses, although part of the project cost may be to lease two new or used buses for the pilot project.

“We’re still working on that aspect of it. Our service provider, First Canada, has been very supportive of this idea. There are a surprising amount of details to work out, such as special licenses and insurance, etc. to operate a bus outside of the municipality itself. But we are working through the details.”

The ‘Borden Rocket’, as Lehman has dubbed the proposed service, would give military personnel an option for travel to and from Barrie that they currently lack and it could help build ridership on the city’s transit system, as many of the riders on the Borden-Essa route may transfer onto other parts of the system, or buy monthly passes.

“It can help make travel between Angus and Barrie less expensive and easier, particularly for students, people coming to medical appointments at RVH or elsewhere, and so forth. It may also provide a boost to businesses in Angus and in the Dunlop Street West corridor as it can provide a new source of customers and a way to work for employees.”

Lehman said this kind of partnership is a good opportunity for Barrie to work with its neighbours, “something we haven’t always been good at. I think it recognizes that the economy doesn’t care about municipal boundaries.

“Lots of people live in one municipality and work in another and if there’s a strong commuter flow between two areas, transit across boundaries makes sense.”

Municipalities can and should work together to provide services to support residents and their employers, he added.

“It’s actually my hope that this pilot project, if successful, would be the first of potentially a few other similar routes serving neighbouring areas that have strong commuter flows to and from Barrie,” he said. “But this is the first time we’ve tried this, so we would need to see if it works first. And before we get there, we need to finalize a solid plan and propose it to each respective council. I hope that can happen this fall.”

Courtesy Barrie Examiner

Barrie Means Business! Barrie Mayor Breakfast

Looking to learn about future development and what's happening in Barrie? Words from our 46th Mayor of the City of Barrie. He discusses the plans for Transit Improvements, Businesses, Development, EM2, Infracture for Growth, RVH - Cancer Care Centre, Education, Georgian College, South Branch Library, South End improvements, City Agenda and more!

His entry is at 4:02, speech and then Q&A

Barrie Real Estate Market - July 2012

Barrie Real Estate Market - July 2012 

Residential property sales recorded through the MLS® System of the Barrie & District Association of REALTORS® Inc. numbered 418 units in July 2012, up 10 per cent from the same month last year. This was the seventh consecutive year-over-year gain.
 
Within the city of Barrie, sales activity recorded an increase on par with the overall region. The city of Barrie saw 255 residential sales in July, also 10 per cent above levels from July 2011.
 
 
The year-to-date average price for all Barrie homes sold via the Association’s MLS® System in July 2012 was $302,905, up six per cent from levels at the same time last year.
 
The year-to-date average price figure for homes sold within the City of Barrie was $287,367. This was a seven per cent increase compared to the same period in 2011. The dollar value of all Barrie home sales in July 2012 was $129 million, up 12 per cent from year-ago levels.
 
New residential Barrie listings were up seven per cent from a year earlier to 700 units in July 2012.
 
Overall supply levels have generally been trending downward since last summer and this trend continued to play out in July. Active residential listings on the Association’s MLS® System numbered 1,686 units at the end of July 2012. This was down 10 per cent from the end of July 2011.
 
There were four months of inventory at the end of July 2012, down from 4.9 months at the end of July 2011. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.
 
Sales of all property types in the Barrie region numbered 430 units in July, up 12 per cent compared to July 2011. The total value of all properties sold in July 2012 was $134.2 million, up 16 per cent on a year-over-year basis.
 
The Barrie and District Association of REALTORS® Inc. covers a geographical area that includes the City of Barrie and part or all of the surrounding townships, including Springwater, Oro-Medonte, Innisfil, Essa, Bradford-West Gwillimbury and Clearview. The Association provides continuing education, Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®), statistical information, and many other services to its members .

For more Barrie Real Estate information go to InvestingInBarrie.com 

The information contained in this report has been prepared by The Canadian Real Estate Association, in co-operation with The Barrie & District Association of REALTORS® Inc.. The information has been drawn from sources deemed to be reliable, but the accuracy and completeness of the information is not guaranteed. In providing this information, neither The Canadian Real Estate Association nor The Barrie & District Association of REALTORS® Inc. assumes any responsibility or liability. Copyright© 2012 The Canadian Real Estate Association. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without written permission.

Record February for home sales in Barrie region

Record February for home sales in Barrie region

Residential property sales recorded through the MLS® System of the Barrie & District Association of REALTORS® Inc. numbered 371 units in February, rising 31 per cent from year-ago levels. This is the first time on record that sales have topped the 350 mark in the month of February. As a result of the strong demand in February, seasonally adjusted sales activity jumped 24 per cent on a month-over-month basis. Within the city of Barrie, sales activity was up by less than the overall trend for the region. The city of Barrie saw 243 residential sales in February, up 25 per cent from one year earlier. On a year-to-date basis, sales activity was running 23 per cent ahead of the first two months of 2011, and stands roughly on par with the record for this period set in 2007. “Demand came in much stronger than expected in February, even after accounting for the extra day and warmer weather this year,” said Walter Doret, President of the Barrie and District Association of REALTORS®. “At the same time the overall supply of properties for home buyers to choose from continues to trend down, and that’s leading to further price gains.” The year-to-date average price for all homes sold via the Association’s MLS® System in February 2012 was $296,096, up eight per cent from levels at the same time last year. The year-to-date average price figure for homes sold just within the City of Barrie was $280,714. This was a nine per cent increase compared to the same period in 2011. The Barrie & District Association of REALTORS® cautions that over a period of time, the use of average price information can be useful in establishing trends, but it does not indicate actual prices in widely divergent areas or account for price differentials between geographical areas. The dollar value of all home sales in February 2012 was $111.5 million, up 44 per cent from year-ago levels. New residential listings were up eight per cent from a year earlier to 662 units in February 2012. Active residential listings on the Association’s MLS® System numbered 1,365 units at the end of February 2012. This was down seven per cent from the overall supply at the end of February 2011. There were 3.5 months of inventory at the end of February 2012 on a seasonally adjusted basis, down from 4.5 months at the end of January. This was the lowest level of inventory since October 2009. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity. Sales of all property types in the Barrie region numbered 378 units in February, up 31 per cent compared to February 2011. The total value of all properties sold in February 2012 was $112.5 million, up 44 per cent on a year-over-year basis. More info on Barrie Real Estate and Investing? Contact the InvestingInBarrie Team! The Barrie and District Association of REALTORS® Inc. covers a geographical area that includes the City of Barrie and part or all of the surrounding townships, including Springwater, Oro-Medonte, Innisfil, Essa, Bradford-West Gwillimbury and Clearview. The Association provides continuing education, Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®), statistical information, and many other services to its members.

The information contained in this report has been prepared by The Canadian Real Estate Association, in co-operation with The Barrie & District Association of REALTORS® Inc.. The information has been drawn from sources deemed to be reliable, but the accuracy and completeness of the information is not guaranteed. In providing this information, neither The Canadian Real Estate Association nor The Barrie & District Association of REALTORS® Inc. assumes any responsibility or liability. Copyright© 2012 The Canadian Real Estate Association. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without written permission.