1. What is your vision for our Downtown? How do you propose getting there?
2. With the expansion of post-secondary education in the region, how would you (at a municipal or regional level) continue to support the institutional growth and integration of students into the community?
3. Name three specific policies or actions you will take to bring significant new industries or commercial enterprises to Oshawa?
MY ANSWERS:
1. Oshawa’s downtown seems to have been stalled in transition for some time. The important next steps should be advanced now, not later. In fact, to make the downtown a beautiful destination place for all residents, businesses, institutions and the wider community, a comprehensive downtown master plan which takes the Downtown 20/Twenty Plan to the next level is needed.
Achieving a vibrant ‘heart of the city’ downtown requires more than simply approving new residential units or waiting for a GO train station to open at the former Knob Hill site. A stronger framework and guidelines for sequencing key interventions must be in place to ensure our downtown is truly transformed.
Although City council members passed 2 new mega-high downtown apartment buildings at their last Council meeting on Sept 24, 2018, for a stronger future citizens need to be drawn to the downtown and celebrate living in Oshawa with more public events/restaurants, attractive public gathering areas and stores with crafts/art galleries/entertainment and cultural features, with information displays prominent along King and Simcoe Streets. Key to that presence requires targeting and attracting anchor owner/tenants, popular not only with students, but families and professionals. A year-round downtown anchor food court/fresh food market and micro brewery on a site in proximity to Oshawa’s two underdeveloped tourist attractions, the Automotive Museum and Parkwood Estate is one idea.
The City’s economic development department, the Greater Oshawa Chamber, the Downtown BIA, the Toronto and Durham Realtor Association ICI members, Spark and other Angel Fund groups, and interested financial associations and urban planners might consider co-hosting a large-scale exhibition/fair inviting restaurant/franchise/micro brewery start ups, with speakers from successful businesses, to showcase what the City of Oshawa has to offer, offer incentives, and demonstrate how the city is serious about welcoming big new ideas, new businesses and new partners to reinvigorate the downtown.
2. Successful growth of Durham College/UOIT/Trent/Queens is a two-way street, as the city is strengthened when these institutions are strengthened. Success requires both of their needs to be viewed collectively, with an on-going commitment to open dialogue and actively furthering specific organized efforts and new initiatives.
Integration of students into the community comes with tapping into student’s interests. Given opportunities to become engaged in specific civic areas, such as cultural/musical/culinary event planning, tech innovations or helping resolve neighbourhood challenges such as housing (with outcomes for which the students can take responsibility and credit) benefit the community and the students.
3. A more targeted approach and a pay for performance program would benefit the City and Region’s economic development departments! Such performance-based contracts are incentives that produce good results.
Bringing in new industries and commercial enterprises is key to Oshawa’s growth. Therefore the servicing of the Northwoods Business Park should be a priority more than asking the province to release 407 lands. Ten years ago, the City made a deal with MTO to include in the Hwy 407E Phase 1, the plan for a future Thornton Rd/407E half interchange based on the Northwoods Industrial Park (as it was called at the time) being developed.
RioCan’s 1million sq.ft.+ shopping centre at Simcoe and Winchester was to have been built in 2014, according to Mayor Henry’s statements to the media in 2012. The city should be pressing hard for the actual commencement of construction as it will not only bring jobs, but also tax revenues to the City. In fact public pressure may swell up if there is no more evidence of construction than just the area’s top soil being stripped, as thousands of new homeowners at Windfield have all been promised a big RioCan shopping centre at their doorstep.
2. With the expansion of post-secondary education in the region, how would you (at a municipal or regional level) continue to support the institutional growth and integration of students into the community?
3. Name three specific policies or actions you will take to bring significant new industries or commercial enterprises to Oshawa?
MY ANSWERS:
1. Oshawa’s downtown seems to have been stalled in transition for some time. The important next steps should be advanced now, not later. In fact, to make the downtown a beautiful destination place for all residents, businesses, institutions and the wider community, a comprehensive downtown master plan which takes the Downtown 20/Twenty Plan to the next level is needed.
Achieving a vibrant ‘heart of the city’ downtown requires more than simply approving new residential units or waiting for a GO train station to open at the former Knob Hill site. A stronger framework and guidelines for sequencing key interventions must be in place to ensure our downtown is truly transformed.
Although City council members passed 2 new mega-high downtown apartment buildings at their last Council meeting on Sept 24, 2018, for a stronger future citizens need to be drawn to the downtown and celebrate living in Oshawa with more public events/restaurants, attractive public gathering areas and stores with crafts/art galleries/entertainment and cultural features, with information displays prominent along King and Simcoe Streets. Key to that presence requires targeting and attracting anchor owner/tenants, popular not only with students, but families and professionals. A year-round downtown anchor food court/fresh food market and micro brewery on a site in proximity to Oshawa’s two underdeveloped tourist attractions, the Automotive Museum and Parkwood Estate is one idea.
The City’s economic development department, the Greater Oshawa Chamber, the Downtown BIA, the Toronto and Durham Realtor Association ICI members, Spark and other Angel Fund groups, and interested financial associations and urban planners might consider co-hosting a large-scale exhibition/fair inviting restaurant/franchise/micro brewery start ups, with speakers from successful businesses, to showcase what the City of Oshawa has to offer, offer incentives, and demonstrate how the city is serious about welcoming big new ideas, new businesses and new partners to reinvigorate the downtown.
2. Successful growth of Durham College/UOIT/Trent/Queens is a two-way street, as the city is strengthened when these institutions are strengthened. Success requires both of their needs to be viewed collectively, with an on-going commitment to open dialogue and actively furthering specific organized efforts and new initiatives.
Integration of students into the community comes with tapping into student’s interests. Given opportunities to become engaged in specific civic areas, such as cultural/musical/culinary event planning, tech innovations or helping resolve neighbourhood challenges such as housing (with outcomes for which the students can take responsibility and credit) benefit the community and the students.
3. A more targeted approach and a pay for performance program would benefit the City and Region’s economic development departments! Such performance-based contracts are incentives that produce good results.
Bringing in new industries and commercial enterprises is key to Oshawa’s growth. Therefore the servicing of the Northwoods Business Park should be a priority more than asking the province to release 407 lands. Ten years ago, the City made a deal with MTO to include in the Hwy 407E Phase 1, the plan for a future Thornton Rd/407E half interchange based on the Northwoods Industrial Park (as it was called at the time) being developed.
RioCan’s 1million sq.ft.+ shopping centre at Simcoe and Winchester was to have been built in 2014, according to Mayor Henry’s statements to the media in 2012. The city should be pressing hard for the actual commencement of construction as it will not only bring jobs, but also tax revenues to the City. In fact public pressure may swell up if there is no more evidence of construction than just the area’s top soil being stripped, as thousands of new homeowners at Windfield have all been promised a big RioCan shopping centre at their doorstep.