The controversial Orbit proposal is once again being pulled into the public spotlight.
Town staff say the draft Orbit Secondary Plan will be up for council consideration on Feb. 28. This news comes after Arcadis IBI Group, an architectural firm with ties to the project, appears to have recently released through numerous channels a new set of renderings for the proposed GO Transit station planned within the massive development near the 6th Line.
“The proposed GO station continues to advance through the detailed design review stage,” town planning manager Brandon Correia told InnisfilToday Feb. 6. “Metrolinx and the land developer are working through the design process. The town is also concurrently reviewing the site plan application for the proposed station.”
Plans call for the station building, transit plaza bus loop and 250 initial parking spaces — there would likely be canopy over the platform, plaza and bus loop.
However, there is no timeline attached to the opening — that will be decided by market conditions, the town said in a spring 2023 report on the matter. Nor was there an estimated cost related to the track bridge, utility or other infrastructure work contained in that document.
It is anticipated the developer will construct the proposed station, supporting platforms, pedestrian tunnel, elevators and parking and convey them to Metrolinx. Ultimately, Metrolinx would then own and operate the station and related facilities.
The broader proposed development, if brought to fruition, could see 90,000 people call Orbit home by 2091, planners say. However, the initial residential component just east of the tracks and north of the 6th calls for three 40-storey mixed-use towers with more than 1,660 residential units in addition to commercial and retail space, cultural and amenity areas and about 1,630 parking spots.
Orbit is a project initiated by the Cortel Group but supported by the town. In fact, on its website, the municipality says the futuristic proposal is “Innisfil's vision for a complete, cutting-edge community where our small town and rural lifestyles are enhanced by the benefits and attributes of urban living.”
In August 2021, a Ministerial Zoning Order (MZO) was issued for two transit-orientated communities (TOC) encompassing lands within a 425-metre radius of the proposed GO Station on the 6th. As directed by the MZO, TOC 1 shall have a minimum density of 200 dwelling units per hectare and buildings between six and 40 storeys tall, while TOC 2 requires a minimum density of 150 dwelling units per hectare and buildings between four and 15 storeys, with an exception of up to 25 storeys for buildings fronting onto the 6th.
A third TOC, making up most of the Orbit land, remains outside of the planning window to 2051, and is not covered by the MZO’s scope. However, the draft secondary plan ties all three TOCs together, giving the town a cohesive document to guide the Orbit over the next seven decades.
More details on the plan can be found at innisfil.ca.
— With files from Patrick Bales
