The redevelopment of downtown Barrie’s market precinct has a green light from city councillors.
They approved a motion Monday night that endorses, in principle, the concept of a Barrie Bayside Market Area centred around converting the Maple Avenue transit terminal to a year-round market, as well as constructing a new Barrie Farmers’ Market building of at least 10,000 square feet nearby.
“I really believe it’s a game-changer for the entire city, certainly for the west end of downtown,” said Deputy Mayor Barry Ward, chairman of the market precinct task force. “This is such a perfect spot.”
The motion passed unanimously. It will be considered for final approval at the Feb. 14 city council meeting.
“It’s going to take years and it’s going to take money,” Coun. Clare Riepma, “but I think we need to take the next step… to see where it goes.”
“The west end (of Barrie) needs some love and this will bring a lot of love to the west end,” said Coun. Keenan Aylwin, who represents the downtown and is also a task force member.
“This is sort of the last piece of the waterfront master plan that we never finished,” said Mayor Jeff Lehman. “This is a comprehensive vision for a precinct. It is not just a plan to convert a building into a market. This will be a tourist attraction, not just the market, but the district.”
The Barrie Bayside Market District would involve converting the Maple Avenue transit terminal to a permanent market building with vendors offering goods six or seven days a week. A new farmers’ market building on site would be home to the weekly market currently at Barrie City Hall, featuring vendors both indoors and outside. When not used as the farmers’ market, the building would be open to other groups and uses.
“The intention is to have a market that works for all seasons,” said task force member Craig Busch. “We’re Canadians, we go out in the wintertime. This isn’t a summer market.”
Other buildings could be added to the area over time. The area surrounding the permanent market and the farmers’ market could draw complementary businesses, including restaurants and artisans.
Coun. Mike McCann said he would like preference given to downtown businesses at the new facility.
“I would like to push for that, for downtown businesses to have first crack at the market,” he said
But Ward said decisions have not been made on that level.
“We will give preference to local businesses,” he said.
The market would help revitalize the west end of the downtown, task force members say, not only because it would draw people to the market buildings themselves, but because merchants and restaurants would be attracted to the surrounding area.
It would also provide farmers and craft people in Barrie and Simcoe County with a place to sell directly to customers, provide those living in the city’s core with another place to buy fresh groceries and encourage people to live in the city’s core.
Its location next to the waterfront would be a natural draw for both residents and tourists. It would also be centred in an area which will see thousands of new people within a 15-minute walk during the next 10 to 20 years, people who would form the backbone of the daily visitors to the market.
There are more than 4,000 units approved or in the approval process in the city centre and likely more in the coming years.
“Those 4,000 new residents are the built-in customers that will ensure the success of this,” Lehman said.
This area is already seeing residential and commercial redevelopment with the Debut Condos now under construction immediately north of the market site and the SmartCentres development a five-minute walk away, between Bradford Street and Lakeshore Drive.
The market site would also be half a block away from Dunlop Street, the main downtown commercial street, to which it would be connected not only by Maple and Mary streets but by a new store-lined arcade in the middle of the adjoining Debut Condos, which also features commercial uses on all sides.
As Open Air Dunlop continues to evolve, there would be a natural link to the market district.
There would also be a good fit with the Sandbox and the Small Business Centre on the second floor of the transit terminal, since the market area would serve as an incubator for food-and-craft-based businesses. The market would be just a couple of blocks from the proposed new performing arts centre, at the former Fisher auditorium site, and the market district itself would eventually spill into the neighbourhood immediately adjacent to the centre.
The task force’s funding subcommittee estimates a total cost of $29 million to $32 million during 13 to 15 years for the permanent market, farmers’ market and three or four additional buildings in the area, plus additional facilities such as a skating trail and artisans village.
There would also be a cost associated with providing Barrie Police Services with a new downtown home.
The funding subcommittee estimates operating costs to be about $550,000 annually, and that the market could operate on a break-even basis.
The city’s portion of the money would likely come from the city’s reinvestment reserve, which is funded by Barrie’s Alectra dividends and meant for community projects. It’s expected there would also be federal and provincial money, especially for the Barrie Farmers’ Market building.
The task force has recommended hiring either a staff person or consultant to start work on planning the project, including getting letters of intent from vendors and applying for funding from other levels of government.
Actual construction couldn’t begin until the bus terminal moves to Allandale, estimated for the spring of 2023. Work could take 16 months, so the market would be ready some time in 2024.
The motion councillors approved Monday says there would be a $100,000 budget funded from the reinvestment reserve, to do a number of tasks associated with the project.
This includes preparing a plan to convert the transit terminal into a permanent market and construct a new building to house the Barrie Farmers’ Market, taking into account various consultants and staff reports during the past seven years, and the needs of the Barrie Farmers’ Market on the design of the building it would use. It would include a community commercial kitchen on site.
There would be applications for grants and sponsorship opportunities to cover the project’s capital costs, a business case for the market prepared as well as a precinct plan including a programming strategy, identification and implementation of market operations, detailed designs for the permanent market and farmers market, and signs.
A streetscape master plan strategy would be prepared, including possible recommendations for amendments to the Official Plan, zoning bylaw and the community improvement plan, a marketing and recruitment strategy would be undertaken, pop-up shop programs prepared, and there would be collaboration with local developers.
Letters of intent would be secured for market vendors, a public art policy subcommittee would be created or there would be work with the existing Barrie public art committee.
Costs of building the market would be included in the city’s capital budgets, beginning in 2023.
The city could also consider acquiring lands in the immediate area of the market district should it be determined that additional property would be needed.
City staff would report back to Barrie councillors by memo with intended timelines and resource requests associated with the recommendation of the task force by the end of March 2022.
“This is a start,” Ward said. “We are going to move ahead with the project unless we hear different.”
