It may not seem to passers-by that much has been happening with the Guelph Innovation District (GID) lands in recent months, but the owner/developer behind is working to move the project forward in hopes of seeing shovels in the ground within the next few years.
Fusion Homes bought the 328-acre site from the provincial government last December. Since then, Ryan Scott, senior vice-president of development and finance, explained the company has been busy “exploring our vision for the site,” engaging with stakeholders including the city and building its team of consultants to work on the development project.
“Not a lot of stuff that you can see – all behind the scenes,” Scott said, noting a number of studies have also been launched to confirm or correct the developer’s understanding of various matters on the site, such as topography.
“We obviously feel there is a need in the city to get this development moving. There’s certainly a need for housing both in the city and the province. This site has potential to make a significant impact on that.”
Scott said the aim is to create housing there “as soon as we can.”
“We would love to look at getting shovels in the ground in two-and-a-half to three years,” he said. “It’s going to require a lot of cooperation, us working with the city and approval authorities to do that.”
Though early in the process, Ryan said the development is likely to start at the property's north end, near York Road, and work toward Stone Road.
"The size and location of the phases will depend somewhat on the topography of the land including storm water management plan, along with external servicing requirements on Victoria Road and Stone Road," he said in a follow-up email. "We see housing supply as a critical issue and expect to focus on residential, initially."
Studies conducted so far have not revealed anything surprising that could impact plans, the senior VP added.
“I’d like to think we had a pretty good handle on it at the time that we bid on it.”
City plans for the lands include a mix of employment, residential, commercial and natural heritage uses. The GID lands encompass 328.6 acres of land bordered by Stone Road East, Victoria Road South and York Road.
That total includes 100 acres of protected natural areas.
“Our process is to figure out how to make that happen and provide the backup studies to support that,” Ryan said. “We really see an opportunity here for the city of Guelph to build something meaningful and relevant, something that will be relevant today and well into the future.
“There’s enough scope here to do a complete community, almost a city within a city.”
Not included in Fusion Homes’ property is the former Guelph reformatory lands, which also make up part of the GID.