Plans for a large, long-discussed mixed-use development on the city’s east end have taken their first formal step forward. Fusion Homes recently submitted its “vision” for the Guelph Innovation District (GID), including two of four block plans, to city officials for review.
Those plans show the proposed layout for a mix of housing options, employment and commercial land, as well as park spaces and more. A future phase includes an elementary school.
“We’re excited to be taking the next steps with this amazing piece of land and what it can bring to Guelph,” said Ryan Scott, Fusion Homes’ vice-president of development and finance. “We’ve been working closely with our consultant team to put this concept together, obviously keeping the intent of the secondary plan intact.”
The GID consists of 328-acres of land bounded roughly by Victoria Road South, Stone Road East and the Eramosa River, encompassing lands previously home to the Ontario Turfgrass Institute, the former Wellington Detention Centre and some conservation lands.
Highlights from the block plan submissions, as noted in the planning justification report, include:
• Mixed-use buildings are oriented towards Stone Road East, Victoria Road South and the proposed extension of College Avenue
• The tallest buildings are located in the site’s nodes in the proposed mixed use hub on the extension of College Avenue at key intersections with Victoria Road South and the proposed north-south collector road
• The innovation district is located on the south west quadrant of the plan area at the intersection of Victoria Road South and Stone Road East, and is planned for a variety of employment uses
• Surrounding the mixed use district and innovation district are mixed use neighbourhoods, with a variety of residential types and densities, along with commercial uses
• Lower densities are directed towards the north and east edges of the plan area along the edge of the natural heritage system lands
• High density uses are located around the mixed use and innovation hubs.
The submitted block plans are for the northern end of the site, where construction efforts are expected to begin. The focus of that area in the plan is residential.
“Our exact phasing plan is still a work in progress,” Scott noted.
There’s still a lot of work to be done, and approvals granted, before construction efforts are allowed to begin.
At the moment, the proposed block plans are under review by city officials and are being circulated to school boards, government ministries, adjacent property owners and others for comments, explained Krista Walkey, the city’s general manager of planning and building services.
Once feedback has been received, those comments will be reviewed and, working with Fusion, adjustments may be made before the block plans are submitted to city council for consideration.
Once block plans are approved, more detailed design efforts can begin through the creation of plans of subdivision, along with any zoning and/or official plan amendments requested by the developer – all of which also require council approval before shovels are put into the ground.
Development of those more detailed plans require a variety of studies to be done, including archaeological and environmental assessments.
City council approved a secondary plan for the site in 2014, essentially dedicating it for future mixed-use development. Fusion bought the property from the provincial government in late 2021.
