By Jeff Helsdon
Editor
If the current trend continues, Tillsonburg is set for a record year as far as industrial building permits are concerned.
As of the end of September (the last quarter where complete data is available), industrial building permits issued were worth a value of $35.6 million. This number has been trending upwards since 2020, and hit a recent high of $15 million in 2022.
Servicing was completed for Phase 1 of the town’s new VanNorman Innovation Park, on the south side of Highway 3, in September 2021 and was sold out within nine months, according to Tillsonburg Economic Development Commissioner Cephas Panschow. The largest of the industrial buildings in the park is the new Schepp’s Bakery building. The 190,000 square-foot building is the second location for the Norwich-based business that manufactures waffle cookies, and recently added an ice cream cookie to its line. It will employ up to 100 employees initially, and more could be added in the future. The plant is expected to open in 2025.
Northern Specialties and Supplies facility in the park is also completed. This company produces the wraps that go around stacks of bills at the bank, and other banking supplies. The company was started by Dave Carpani, and is now operated by his sons Wes and Aaron.
There are four other companies going in the industrial park, including one other food processor. Panschow couldn’t divulge who the other industrial park companies were yet. Town council recently approved the second phase of the VanNorman Innovation Park to the east of the present site. Phase 2 will be 140 acres, more than three times the size of the 37-acre first phase.
The first part of the VanNorman Industrial Park, on the north side of Highway 3, opened in the late 1980s. It nearly three decades to fill it, and Panschow said the town’s industrial growth has historically been “slow and steady”, but many factors have lined up over the past five years that have resulted in increased demand.
“You have global forces pushing development back to North America, and a shortage of industrial land,” he said, adding this started before COVID-19, and then accelerated since.
Panschow elaborated further, saying the demand for industrial land is unprecedented across the province and country.
“Tillsonburg still offers lower costs for industrial development and then other communities, so there’s a lot of demand,” he added.
Outside of the industrial park, Armtec Inc.– a company that manufactures corrugated metal pipe and Big O drainage pipe – opened its $27 million plant on Rokeby Side Road, earlier this year. The plant will create up to 100 new jobs, and was supported by Ontario’s Regional Development Program.
Modhani opened its facility in a renovated space on Spruce Street that was formerly TRW’s second plant.
Another major development is under construction on Vienna Road, south of Highway 3. Panschow couldn’t disclose the ownership of this plant yet, but said it will be 240,000 square-feet in size and, similar to the Schep’s Bakeries investment, one of the largest manufacturing investments in Tillsonburg’s history
The new People Care long-term care facility at 25 Maple Lane is another new development in town.
Residential builds up
The only recent high rises in town were the ones built on Concession Street West and Tillson Ave. There are several on the books, including the controversial ones on North Street West and the Station View Developments on Bridge Street. In addition, there are four high-rises being constructed by Harvest Ave Inc. and two proposed affordable housing developments, one on Dereham Drive and one on Earle Street. The Harvest Ave Inc. development also has affordable units in it.
Tillsonburg is the third-fastest growing community in the country for the 10,000 to 100,000 population range, according to the census data. There are currently 3,000 approved housing units approved in town.
“It is important to note that the rapid development we had seen over the Covid years is no longer prevalent as new development is being tied to water and sewer capacity,” Mayor Deb Gilvesy said. “It’s basically a first-come first-served basis and will cause the growth to be at a much slower pace.”
The mayor is pushing that health care needs to be tied to growth. She heard concerns about education, but said one Tillsonburg school is currently underutilized. Thames Valley District School Board is undertaking a boundary review to look at the problem.
While many residents are critical of the increase in residential construction, the town does have to meet mandates from the province.
“I continue to maintain that rapid residential growth drains tax systems and places a lot of pressure on infrastructure, however, industrial growth is a net gain,” Gilvesy said. “There needs to be a balance of job growth and housing.”
One of the many complaints has been the increase in traffic in the town. Panschow said the town’s first-ever Transportation Master Plan is currently under way and it will hopefully address that.
The big retail questions
Panschow said the retail sector is a challenging one that has been significantly impacted by a number of global forces including lingering pandemic impacts and competition from online retailers. While recruiting retailers to town is not a primary responsibility, the town does believe that having a strong and growing retail sector is important for the community and works to support efforts in this regard where possible.
“A positive for Tillsonburg is its population growth, which makes the town more attractive to retailers,” he said.
The plaza at 671 Broadway is a first step in adding a large amount of retail space for the town. And there is the large property on the east side of Highway 19, adjacent to Sobey’s, which is zoned Service Commercial. Panschow understands it recently changed hands, but he did say it wasn’t Wal-Mart, as was proposed many years ago.
“As the economic development department, we want to see the downtown mall full, and similarly we want to see the new 671 Broadway plaza fully tenanted as well,” he said. “We’ll definitely consider doing anything possible to assist with these vacant properties.”
Tillsonburg’s retail vacancy rate is sitting at five per cent, which is below seven per cent, which is considered a healthy number.
And, of course, there is the big question for many Tillsonburg shoppers: Giant Tiger and Winners.
“Winners and Giant Tiger have been approached many times by private owners, and occasionally the town/Business Improvement Association over the years, but they haven’t been able to find the right combination of space requirements, acceptable lease rate, location, etc.,” Panschow said. “Hopefully that will change in the future as our market is prime for these two retailers, but so far, there hasn’t been a winning combination for them in town yet.”
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