2021 a record-breaking year for building activity in Wasaga Beach

The 2021 year was a banner one for building and development in the Town of Wasaga Beach, with the municipality setting various new records and continuing a period of strong growth.

“Despite the challenges of the pandemic, builder confidence in Wasaga Beach remained high last year and that is evident through the building activity numbers that we recorded,” Mayor Nina Bifolchi said. “Our builders tell us that they see Wasaga Beach as a great place to live, work, and invest, and that is a sentiment we also hear from people settling in our community.”

Danny Rodgers, director of building and development standards, said the town expects the building trend to continue throughout 2022.

“Based on everything we are hearing from builders we will see another good year,” Rodgers said. “And this is in keeping with what we have seen over the last few years.”

Doug Herron, director of planning and economic initiatives, said the activity reflects long-term planning efforts.

“People see the construction taking place and sometimes forget that our Official Plan, which includes community consultation, helped determine the type of growth that is happening and where. Some of that planning work and public consultation took place years ago and we are just now seeing the implementation,” Herron said. “In addition, we have the review process for each specific building project and that too has involved a consultation period. The entire process is important because it ensures we get a high-quality product that fits and enhances the existing community.”

George Vadeboncoeur, chief administrative officer, said growth contributes to a larger tax base to support municipal programs and services – he said these are good things – but there is more to the story.

“Growth means that new businesses are attracted to the community and existing businesses can count on a larger customer base, that our skilled labour pool grows and diversifies, that there are more students for our current schools and the new schools being planned, that our clubs and sporting organizations succeed, and that we remain an overall vibrant community,” Vadeboncoeur said. “These are all wins for Wasaga Beach. Work continues on capital projects to support growth such as the widening of River Road West and the urbanization of Mosley Street from 45th Street to Beachwood Road.”

Numbers at a glance…

For 2021, the town issued 871 building permits, including 267 for single-detached homes and 236 for townhomes. The total number of permits issued in 2021 far surpassed the 553 issued in 2020. The last time the town saw overall building permit numbers as high as 2021 was in 2004 when the town issued 870 permits.

The total number of new homes for 2021 was 530, a record setting figure that beats out the 493 units built in 2004.

Residential construction values for 2021 reached $184-million, surpassing a 2017 record of $106-million.

Non-residential construction values reached $88-million, which includes the town’s twin-pad arena and library project. The 2021 figures also set a new record, surpassing the 2019 record of $17.8-million.

The total value of all construction for 2021 reached $272-million, beating the 2019 record of $123-million.

“The town surpassed all of its key performance indicators, making 2021 an extremely notable year,” Rodgers said. “The issuance of a building permit is a result of a collaborative effort across our engineering, planning, and building departments, and sets in motion a workflow that touches most departments within our municipal organization. The level of teamwork and expertise to successfully manage this level of development is reflective of the professionalism and commitment of the entire town team.”

Mayor Bifolchi said the strong building numbers are a reflection of the goals council established at the start of the 2018-2022 term.

“Three of our goals directly related to development,” she said. “One was to promote and facilitate the construction of affordable, attainable and safe housing and we have done that. The other was to support the private sector in growing and diversifying the tax base and we have done that, too. And thirdly, we set out to build a safer, healthier community that is mindful of the neighbourhoods in town and we are doing that too.”

To guide growth in the west end, the town has launched the West Wasaga Secondary Plan Study that will seek input from residents in the area.