Oshawa’s New City Centre Plan

Downtown Revitalization

NRU
Sept. 24, 2014
By Leah Wong

While downtown Oshawa has been undergoing revitalization for close to a decade, a new plan aims to build on the past and bring further development and investment into the downtown core.

In the final meeting of the term Oshawa council approved recommendations from the development services committee on Plan 20Twenty. The plan will now guide further revitalization in the downtown core.

Developed in response to the province identifying downtown Oshawa as an urban growth centre in the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, the 2005 plan has been the primary document guiding development in downtown Oshawa to date. Plan 20Twenty will guide the next steps in revitalizing the core.

“The plan is intended to create growth in the downtown core,” economic development director Cindy Simons-Millroy told NRU. “To attract more people - both to live and work in the city - and to make the downtown a livelier, community and people-oriented place.”

Residential development is a big part of the plan, as increasing the downtown’s population will help support local businesses said Simons-Millroy. Currently there are two new residential buildings proposed for downtown, which, if approved, would start construction in 2015. A number of businesses have undergone second-floor conversions to create new apartment units, something that is encouraged under the new plan.

“We’ve been hugely successful in attracting new development to the downtown core,” said Simons-Millroy. “We need to keep that progressive growth in the downtown core moving forward.”

Work on Plan 20Twenty started with a small group comprising city staff and members of the business community. Throughout the development of the plan more than 40 stakeholders were involved in discussions, including the Downtown Oshawa Business Improvement Area, University of Ontario Institute of Technology and the Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce.

Downtown development officer David Tuley told council the implementation of the plan will be shared between public and private partners. The group of stakeholders who contributed to the plan, known as Group 20Twenty, will continue to participate in the oversight and implementation of the plan.

Plan 20Twenty addresses five areas that are positioned to drive further revitalization in the core: business growth, residential growth, physical environment, social experience and communications. Each will be addressed through a series of actions, including developer engagement, bike infrastructure improvements, sidewalk cafe program and creating purpose-built student housing.

“This is a very wonderful plan that will move our downtown [forward] in a positive direction,” said Councillor Amy England. “It builds on a lot of things that have been going on behind the scenes.”

The plan builds on the accomplishments of the 2005 plan and looks at what the city needs to do to move forward. Though the plan has timelines for most actions, it has been developed in a way to facilitate review and modifications throughout its lifespan. This will allow for a more flexible plan that can change with the needs of the downtown.

“The downtown Oshawa of today looks very different than when the downtown action plan was approved in 2005,” Simons-Millroy said in a presentation to council Monday night.

Downtown already includes redeveloped brownfield sites such as the Durham Courthouse and the General Motors Centre and the revitalization of previously vacant buildings. The creation of a downtown UOIT campus is another example of revitalization in the core, with more than 2,600 students studying full-time at this campus. The new Holiday Inn Express and Oshawa Conference Centre are expected to open later this year.

“The development has been across a number of sectors. It helps us to be more appealing to the development community when we’re not appealing on particular areas,” said Simons-Millroy. “People are seeing that as a real benefit to putting their money into the core.”

The addition of the UOIT campus has been particularly beneficial to the downtown. Simons-Millroy says students in the area demand a range of products and services, which helps attract new businesses and developers.

“Seeing the students lets people know that our downtown is alive,” said Downtown Oshawa BIA office administrator Angela Mittoni. “The diversity the students bring teaches us about other cultures and has created a vibrant downtown as local businesses can accommodate their needs.”

On top of a growing student population, there is also a large government sector in downtown Oshawa, as well as number of small businesses starting up through regional innovation centre Spark Centre.

Though the plan was just approved Monday, work on some action items is already underway. The Plan 20Twenty group will meet on a quarterly basis to monitor the plan’s progress.