East Gwillimbury employment lands highway advantage

NRU
Oct. 15, 2014
By Edward LaRusic

As the Town of East Gwillimbury plans to triple its employment by 2031, a new secondary plan aims to take advantage of the new Highway 404 extension and add high-speed internet infrastructure to promote employment growth.

“What we’re counting on for [Highway 404] and the corridor up Woodbine Avenue is primarily for the larger [businesses] that will employ higher paying jobs,” said Councillor John Eaton. Eaton is the council liaison for the Economic Development Advisory Committee.

Eaton said that the employment land’s proximity to Highway 404 and the Green Lane corridor are major strengths. He added that the town couldn’t put much effort into the secondary plan until the highway extension was completed.

“When you have a major 400 series highway such as the 404, it gives access points for corporations and their people to travel if they’re coming from outside of East Gwillimbury, or if they’re needing deliveries...It makes those employment land accessible, whereas in the past it looked nice in the plans, but it was just farm fields.”

Eaton said that the town’s Economic Development Advisory Committee is pushing to install high-speed infrastructure, to further encourage companies to locate in East Gwillimbury.

“There’s too many opportunities for companies to go to other places. Me, council and the economic advisory committee know that [high-speed internet infrastructure is] a necessity.”

Eaton noted that Rice Commercial Group has completed an agreement with Airstate Ltd. to build a high-tech manufacturing plant as well as office space on 32 acres of land at the northeast corner of Highway 404 and Green Lane East. Eaton said the firm anticipates employing over 500 people at the plant, which is expected to open in 2017. He hopes the new plant will help build a business case for the town to bring high-speed internet infrastructure to the area.

“The Highway 404 Employment Corridor Secondary Plan seeks to accommodate 6,000 new jobs, as well as [address] future transportation needs in the vicinity of Highway 404 and Green Lane East,” town development planning general manager Carolyn Kellington said in an email to NRU. She added that it will also address the required infrastructure, such as transportation, water and wastewater.

The plan seeks to take advantage of the extension of Highway 404 between Green Lane East and the Town of Georgina which begins at Ravenshoe Road. The draft locates prestige employment almost entirely down the east side of Highway 404. Mixed business employment is concentrated along Green Lane East and Woodbine Avenue, with general employment located away from the arterial roads.

Eaton notes that the challenge East Gwillimbury has had using the Highway 404 area is the lack of servicing. That may not be the case much longer. Located south of the community of Sharon, the staff report proposes the extension of the York Durham Servicing Scheme near Sharon’s western boundary. This will offer the opportunity to fully service these employment lands.

The secondary plan comes as East Gwillimbury prepares for a large growth spurt. By 2031, the town’s population is expected to grow from about 34,700 to 86,500 residents, with employment increasing from 11,600 to 34,400 jobs in the same time period.

Kellington noted that both the Highway 404 Secondary Plan and the Green Lane Corridor Secondary Plan are a result of a growth management strategy that was adopted by council in March 2010. (See the July 16, 2014 issue of NRU GTA.)

“Both secondary plans are within the town’s urban expansion areas as identified by our official plan,” Kellington said. She noted that two of the growth management strategy’s goals are to enhance the quality of life and promote a mix of uses within the town.

Eaton said he thinks that any new residential subdivisions, as well as future development within the Green Lane Corridor Secondary Plan area, will require the jobs that the Highway 404 plan can provide.

“The types of people who are going to afford these types of homes are going to want good paying jobs. They don’t all want to live up here in the new houses and drive to Mississauga or Markham every day. The combination of a complete community is having employment opportunities close by to where residents will move to.”

Both the Green Lane Corridor and Highway 404 Employment Corridor secondary plans are expected to be approved in 2015.

The Highway 404 extension opened September 17.