On the face of it, the top priority for Newmarket’s continued growth and prosperity doesn’t exactly inspire excitement or enthusiasm.
It’s sewage: The Upper York Sewage Solutions project, to be precise.
But Mayor John Taylor didn’t shy away from it at his first “state of the union address” — the annual Newmarket Chamber Mayor’s Luncheon.
Here are some highlights from Taylor's April 26 address to a packed room of chamber members and guests at Cardinal Golf Club.
Sewage capacity needed for growth
“As many of you know, without (the Upper York Sewage Solutions project), growth will come to a stop in Newmarket and York Region. And that has significant meaning to the business community and to the Town of Newmarket, and many of the people in this room,” Taylor said.
“Imagine somebody saying your business can’t grow even one iota. That’s potentially what’s coming — now, we don’t think that’s going to happen, we’re working hard to avoid it, but we need the ministry to get moving on this.”
The project has been awaiting approval from the Environment Ministry for four years — an “unprecedented holdup”, he said.
The additional sewage capacity will allow “about 150,000 people worth of growth” for Newmarket, Aurora and East Gwillimbury, he said.
“We need to move this project forward. It’s our No. 1 priority.”
Local representatives recently met with Environment Minister Rod Phillips and Newmarket-Aurora MPP Christine Elliott to lobby for the project’s approval, said Taylor, noting they were “very receptive”.
“Why is it important? It’s about the local economy, but it’s also about housing options. We need housing options for seniors who need to downsize, young people who want to move out of their parents’ house, for young knowledge workers who want to move to Newmarket to work for some of the emerging companies here.”
Housing affordability is a key topic for every municipality, the mayor emphasized.
"We’ve got major challenges in this area.”
Affordable housing
He cautioned, however, in thinking the term “affordable” refers to government-subsidized housing only.
“Affordable housing is a spectrum, it’s not one thing. ...Starting with homeless shelters up to single-family homes. Rental is more affordable than home ownership, townhomes and condos are more affordable than single-family homes. And we, as a community, need to hit all those spots, and make sure there are affordability points for everybody in our community.”
The so-called housing crisis can be attributed to the dramatic increase in housing prices. From 2007 to 2017, the average house price rose by 154 per cent, while the average family’s income went up by 14 per cent.
The lack of affordable housing has created a significant demand for rental housing, he said, however, with a 1.7-per cent vacancy rate, only about 20 per cent of people are renting in York Region.
“We don’t have enough rental today, never mind the exponential growth and demand that’s going to come for rental housing,” he said.
“We’re stepping forward when it comes to rental housing in Newmarket, we’re a leader, and we need to be. Communities with a decent amount of rental housing are going to be the winners in the long run because we’re going to be able to house everybody, the people who need to work in all of our stores, and the factories and in the community everywhere.”
Newmarket’s 212 Davis Dr. is the first purpose-built large rental building in all of York Region in almost 30 years.
“If you wonder why we don’t have enough rental housing, nobody is building it,” Taylor said to applause.
That's why it is important to provide “reasonable incentives that are not costly to the taxpayer, but helpful to the business model,” he added.
Twinning project to help town grow
Hand-in-hand with that is another sewage project, the force main twinning project, which “will give us a little internal capacity to grow,” the mayor explained.
It’s the only major sewage pipe in York Region that isn’t twinned for efficiencies, redundancies, environmental protection and safety to divert the flow when there’s a problem.
The three-year project will be “somewhat disruptive”, he said, as it literally goes through the middle of Newmarket, following the Holland River, through George Richardson Park, Riverwalk Commons and Fairy Lake.
“We’ll need everybody’s patience as we do this — I don’t think it will be quite as difficult as Viva on Davis Drive — but it’s in that range,” he said.
Newmarket poised for continued growth
Newmarket is the slowest growing municipality in York Region — it has been growing consistently at about 1.5 per cent annually and now boasts a population of 90,000 — but it is benefiting as nearby business centres in King Township, East Gwillimbury and Whitchurch Stouffville grow at a much faster pace.
However, there are interesting development projects underway, and on the horizon, some of which the mayor highlighted:
- Clock Tower on Main Street: The “good news” is that the project is moving forward with the announcement it will be put on the market in the near future. “There will be a lot of interest because our Main Street is moving forward very quickly right now and is very hot, in my opinion. Downtown Newmarket has become a thriving restaurant and entertainment district.”
- Redwood (formerly Slessor Square, across from Upper Canada Mall): Targeting 2021 for completion, the highrise will offer mid- to high-end rental units, including larger two to three-bedroom units, with retail, and maybe a restaurant on the ground floor. Above the parking garage will be a 1.5-acre greenspace for residents.
- Deerfield (at Davis Drive): The first of the multi-building project — a “stunning condominium building” — is going to market now; the second phase will be rental; the third “is not fully defined”. “This is exciting, too, this is the kind of growth we have planned for a long time. We want to protect our existing neighbourhoods and make sure we’ve got some density on our corridors at the Viva stations. This is exactly the direction we believe we should be going in.” The development provides much-needed housing options, particularly appealing to seniors wishing to downsize from single-family homes.
- Hollingsworth Arena lands (at Patterson and Davis, across from Southlake hospital): Council is reviewing a proposal to purchase some or all of the space. The Town can sell part of it, all of it, or keep it for town use.
- Magna Campus (about 45 acres on Newpark Blvd. and Bayview Avenue): The industrial building has become surrounded by residential homes. Magna has not owned the five or six buildings for some time, and they were recently sold to a B.C. consortium that is considering a mixed-use development there. Magna has a five-year lease, and possible renewal, so this is a longer-term project.
- Shining Hill (on St. John’s Sideroad at Yonge Street, northeast corner): Beginning this summer, townhomes and single-family homes will be constructed. While the property is almost 400 acres in size, most of it can’t be developed as it is environmentally protected land.
- 1250 Davis Dr., at Highway 404 (former R. Reiniger & Sons Ltd. plant): The first phase of the large-scale retail and commercial development, on the north side of the 29-acre site, is underway.
- York Regional Police Association lands (on Stonehaven at Bayview avenues): The 40-acre property has recently been sold to a development group that will apply for residential use. However, a large portion of the land is floodplain and wetland. The union is moving to a new location beside YRP headquarters in Aurora.
- Mulock GO station secondary plan area: The Town is developing a plan for a higher density community supported by a GO station.
- Mulock Farm property (at Yonge Street): Developing the 11.6-acre “jewel” is “certainly the most exciting project on the table”. The project is at the concept stage, and the Town may engage world-class park architects to help create the plan for this “last significant greenspace” in town. “This council is committed to making sure that this is exceptional, and it will be.”
Economic outlook
The mayor also highlighted the state of the economy for York Region, which is growing by 25,000 people per year. According to the 2016 census, the region’s population is 1.1 million, and is forecast to reach 1.8 million by 2041, though Taylor expects it to reach 2.2 million by then.
York Region will take the largest share of the growth with about 20 per cent in the GTA.
“We are going to have continued growth and growth pressure, that’s both an opportunity and a challenge for our communities and our region,” he said.
“With growth comes infrastructure and you have to build infrastructure in advance of growth to the best of your ability, or you’re not building your community properly — you’ve got to put certain things in place so growth can be managed appropriately.”
The region is investing $6.6 billion in a capital growth plan over the next 10 years.
“I can tell you, if you see a community that doesn’t have a robust growth plan like that but has growth projections, you should worry, you need to make that investment.”
The majority of the money is going to transportation — roads and transit — and environmental services — pipes, water and wastewater, and the plants that treat them, Taylor said.
“Do we need rapid transitways today? Maybe not. But do we need it in 10, 20 or 30 years? Absolutely."
“There’s a budding opportunity and we’re moving forward because you’ve got to build a transit network for the third fastest census growing division in Canada, which is York Region. You’ve got to make sure you’re prepared for the future. If we’re not doing that, we’re not doing our job properly.”
Costly transit projects are required to be built out over decades and now that the system is starting to come together, the investment is starting to make sense, he said.
VivaNext cost $1.7 billion, the Spadina subway extension $3.3 billion, and Yonge subway extension to Richmond Hill at least $5.5 billion to $6 billion, he said.
The region is also investing in its roads with almost $1 billion allocated for this term of council (2018 to 2022), plus the $200 million that will be generated by the new one-per cent levy.
Fiscal strategy
Taylor acknowledged the region has “quite a bit of debt” — the highest debt per capita in Ontario — which is necessary for a fast-growing region required to build infrastructure in advance of growth.
However, the region has one of the lowest tax-supported debts in Ontario — an “important distinction”, Taylor said. The debt is now below $3 billion and will continue to decrease as development charges come in.
“It’s a very sound fiscal picture, even with high debt,” he added, noting the region has extremely robust reserves, which ensures high marks by the rating agencies and lower interest rates.
“This is a sound fiscal strategy for managing high growth.”
Comparing taxes per capita, Newmarket is consistently about 10 per cent below the York Region/GTA average, Taylor said.
“We’re trying to build an incredible community here and that takes investment, and places like RiverWalk Commons, the Old Town Hall, Mulock Farm, and infrastructure for buildings and pipes, to make sure we’re ready. We’re trying to be a very future-ready community and that takes investment.”
Job growth is “quite strong”, more than 2,000 jobs were created in 2018, due in part to Celestica, and Newmarket has a strong manufacturing and technology sector.
“The future for Newmarket is exceptionally bright.”
