When I was little, I remember the song A Hole in the Bottom of the Sea and all the things that grew out of that hole. We’d sing it at summer camp, so naturally this July I found myself thinking about the hole in the centre of Bradford West Gwillimbury.
It’s right there across from Bradford District High School: a 30-odd-acre field that looks like someone excavated the land and then let it go. There’s some vegetation—mostly grasses, a few trees—and I seem to recall there being an abandoned seat from an old car, which functioned as, shall we say, an offsite meeting place for truant Bradford High students.
The abandoned field next to Bradford High has been sitting there vacant for my entire life. In the 1990s, there used to be the promise of a mall or a movie theatre, but those plans clearly aren’t happening.
If you’ve been reading these columns over the past few months, you might have picked up on the fact that I’m fascinated by areas or issues in town that can be improved with just a little common sense and elbow grease. I like fixing things, and I like projects.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not after development for development’s sake. But this isn’t really a natural area: it’s not a park or a conservation area, it’s an unused piece of land right in the centre of town.
So, wanting answers, I emailed Geoff McKnight, the town’s chief administrative officer, about the field. Geoff’s a good guy: diligent, answers emails quickly. I’ve always enjoyed working with him. In this case, he got back to me right away with a very detailed answer.
Right off the bat, he was quick to set the scene, saying, “It’s fair to say that council views the area as perhaps the most important undeveloped parcel in Bradford.”
And he was blunt in his assessment: “It’s a 32-acre vacant field in the geographical centre of the Bradford urban area that is close to everything and served by municipal transit. Something important needs to happen there.”
He explained that the lands are part of an Official Plan Amendment, with Holland Street West and Professor Day Drive forming the westerly “anchor” of what the town considers its downtown area. But that amendment is being appealed through the province’s Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) process.
Notwithstanding that ongoing appeal, the goal for the vacant field, McKnight indicates, is for “an active, mix-use, dense node that befits the prominence of the area." That sounds to me like a mix of residential and commercial developments that would “in-fill” the hole in the centre of Bradford.
Now, for such a large, untouched field in the centre of town, this must be done in the right way.
In pursuit of that vision, McKnight said, “our planning staff have attempted to work with the property owners to collaborate on a plan that would deliver upon council’s vision for the block.” The first step in such a process would be a master plan for the whole area, which includes up to four land parcels under various ownerships.
The master plan would work to ensure “the whole area be developed in consultation with the public to ensure there is proper context and coordination for any subsequent development applications… Despite the property fragmentation, we need to ensure the area is developed the ‘right way.'"
There are currently no active development applications for the lands. In the meantime, the lands sit vacant.
But I can see a nice mix of storefronts, some good housing options, and hopefully some great parkland too, all within walking distance of schools, the pool and library, and served by our nascent public bus service.
Jonathan Scott is a public affairs consultant and writer, who has managed election campaigns for several politicians around Ontario, including BWG Mayor Rob Keffer.
