Ontario Construction News staff writer
More than 200 real estate and development professionals from across the GTA recently took part in the City of Oshawa’s 18th Annual Realtor and Developer Breakfast sponsored by Panattoni Development Company.
Offered in a hybrid format, participants gained the latest insights from an expert panel on commercial, industrial and residential trends affecting local markets.
The City of Oshawa delivered an Economic Development Snapshot that provided the latest economic updates, highlighted Oshawa’s recent impressive growth, and featured major industrial, commercial and residential developments taking place and planned across the city.
Highlights included:
- approximately $1 billion worth of commercial, industrial and institutional development over the past five years
- $1.5 billion in total construction activity in 2022 and 2023
- with Census Metropolitan Area population growth at 2.3% in 2021 and approximately 10% population growth from 2016-2021, Oshawa remains one of the fastest growing communities in Canada
- Ontario Power Generation and their progress in establishing a new corporate headquarters in Oshawa that will bring over 2,000 highly skilled staff to the community
- new developments in Northwood Business Park, including Lactalis Canada (the largest dairy products group in the world) and supply chain giant Martin Brower who are collectively bringing over 250 new jobs to Oshawa
- a new Trent University GTA Advanced Learning Centre in downtown Oshawa that has brought 800 new post-secondary students to the city’s urban core
- an additional $280 million investment from General Motors of Canada to produce the next generation of internal combustion engine full-size trucks at the Oshawa Assembly Plant
- new provincial legislation enabling municipalities to support the building of stations along GO train routes, a decision that will enable the region to explore up-fronting costs related to construction for new Oshawa stations
- transit-oriented development proposals such as 144-155 First Avenue, a mixed-use development proposed to deliver 5,435 residential units in buildings ranging from 14 to 42 storeys
- Queen’s University Lakeridge Health Family Medicine Program, a first-of-its-kind new medical education model based in Oshawa and designed to address the shortage of family doctors and graduate practice-ready, community-focused physicians
- a new Oshawa Economic Development Strategy, awaiting City Council review with a planned launch in early 2024
- the city’s new Development Insider publication outlining major development and economic highlights in Oshawa
“Oshawa is a city on the forefront of innovation, driven by a commitment to being customer-focused and continuously improving our service,” Mayor Dan Carter said in a statement. “We pride ourselves on meeting the ever-evolving needs of our business community. As a result, global leaders in industry and development are taking notice of the great City of Oshawa as an exceptional community of choice in which to live, work, learn and invest.”
Attendees had the opportunity to immerse themselves in a virtual reality experience of Oshawa’s next prime employment opportunity at Northwood Business Park using an Oculus VR headset.
The event also featured the launch of the City of Oshawa’s Economic Dashboard. The new online tool offers real-time economic indicators, socio-economic and demographic data to investors and decision makers.
A webstream of the event is available on the city’s YouTube channel.