Chamber’s annual Breakfast with the Mayor included Ingersoll Community Campus announcement

The Town of Ingersoll is one step closer to making what it is calling a Community Campus a reality. A groundbreaking ceremony was held last week with elected and other officials. (Lee Griffi photo and Town of Ingersoll image)

Lee Griffi, Editor

It has a long way to go, but the Ingersoll Community Campus plan has been released to the public.

The Ingersoll District Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Breakfast with the Mayor event last week, concluding with an official groundbreaking at the future site of the campus.

“What began as a reflection of Ingersoll’s economic growth turned into a celebration of the town’s future. In front of local business leaders and residents, Mayor Brian Petrie and town officials pivoted from the event presentation to the project site, marking the start of a development that has been a cornerstone of Ingersoll’s strategic plan,” according to a town press release.

The Ingersoll Community Campus represents a multi-year effort to centralize recreation and residential needs to meet Ingersoll’s the needs of the community. The groundbreaking represents the project transferring from a plan on paper to reality.

On Wednesday, March 11, Oxford County Council discussed and approved the application for the draft plan for the subdivision.

“This is a big step for the Town of Ingersoll. It's wonderful to have support for the collaborative efforts of the municipalities in our community. Oxford County residents will benefit from this project for many years to come,” said a statement from the town in a press release.

The land is expected to be home to a future residential development, a peopleCare seniors care community, a Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) public school, a municipally owned multi-use recreation centre (MURC), and open space, served by one new local street.

"Our business community continually supports our town, so that great things like the community campus can become reality,” said Petrie. “It was fitting to include them in today’s ceremony as a small token of appreciation for the great quality of life we have in Ingersoll and to thank them for investing in our community.”

He added decades of hard work by so many people have paid off.

“There are going to be buildings here very shortly, people are going to be living here, going to school here, living in a long-term care home, and using the arena. I hope people can look back and remember it took a lot of people to make it happen.”

The land was previously owned by former South-West Oxford (SWOX) Mayor Margaret (Peg) Caffyn and her family, something Petrie said makes the development especially significant.

“The process of the boundary adjustment goes back well over a decade, after talks with SWOX and the land sale officially happened during my term. That’s the great thing about my role – I have to thank the people who came before me, made good decisions, and hopefully we are setting people up for good decisions in the future.”

The next hurdle for the town is how to pay for the project, something Petrie is well aware of.

“Every single day our staff are looking for ways to make this more affordable but also maintain that service level. What can we do to save dollars over here. The provincial government put $2.5 million into stormwater management, and we are reviewing federal funding opportunities.”

He added there was a recent announcement about a $300 million increase in funding to the provincial government’s Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund, something he hopes the town will be able to take advantage of.

“We are pursuing that, and we will be able to sell off land on the residential side that will help. I have full confidence in our staff when they say we can afford to do this.”

Petrie said while the groundbreaking couldn’t compare with former Ingersoll resident Jeremy Hansen’s space jaunt, it’s still a pretty big deal.

“Spring is here, we have a lot of excitement going on with a trip around the moon with Jeremy being out there. This isn’t quite on that scale, but for a small town, this is as big as it gets. I am proud of our staff and the community for making it happen.”

Ingersoll CEO Michael Graves said the development will involve a lot of hard work from a lot of people.

“This is the start of the whole subdivision. It’s a large project, and we are all working together to make it a reality.”

While peopleCare’s application for a new home in Ingersoll has not yet been approved, its Chairman and CEO, Brent Gingerich, is looking forward to the future.

“On behalf of peopleCare Communities, I would like to congratulate the Town of Ingersoll Council and staff on the progress toward the Ingersoll Community Campus. This project is a strong reflection of the Town’s forward-thinking approach to community building.”

TVDSB Director of Education Bill Tucker said the project reflects the board’s commitment to planning for growth and supporting thriving communities.

“A new elementary school in Ingersoll would help relieve current enrolment pressures, reduce reliance on portables, and create a modern learning environment for students. Through the inclusion of child care spaces, this shared community campus will also support families and strengthen access to early years programming across Oxford County.”