By: Craig Donaldson
It was a windy and snowy day, but with spring just starting, I couldn’t resist popping down to the waterfront in Wasaga Beach in anticipation of summer.
As I drove down Spruce Street on my way to the iconic Beach Drive, it was hard not to notice the vast empty space that occupies much of beach area one.
Where a mall and many businesses used to lie is now a parking lot. Gravel and rocks now make up the area where businesses used to flourish.
If Wasaga Beach Mayor Brian Smith has his way, beach area one will not remain in the state it is in today.
Wasaga Beach town council awarded a request for proposal (RFP) to FRAM building group, to begin drafting a proposal to redevelop Wasaga’s beachfront.
The town hopes the project will transform “Wasaga Beach’s local economy and change the landscape of the beachfront commercial area for generations to come.”
Smith is serving his second term as mayor and is passionate about Wasaga Beach’s latest beachfront redevelopment efforts.
I asked Mayor Smith to describe Wasaga Beach in one word.
“Heaven,” he said.
But on one night in 2007, a huge part of Wasaga’s history was destroyed by fire. The fire happened at beach area one, the heart of Wasaga Beach’s beachfront. Buildings and attractions that had been there for over half a century, were wiped away.
The fire was no accident. Two men were arrested and charged with arson. The fire destroyed 90 percent of the buildings in the area. Many of the buildings that burned down were privately owned businesses. The fire has impacted Wasaga’s local economy for the past 17 years.
Looking back at the fire, the town has struggled to redevelop the beachfront, with plans going almost back to “square one” just last year.
Peter Gribbin, the president of the Wasaga Beach Rate Payers Association, described the 2007 fire as devastating, but he remains forward-looking.
“There was some sadness at the time because some of that history was gone. Some of the local merchants had lost their business. But, you know, that quickly turned for me anyway to, an opportunity,” Gribbin said. “To redevelop and bring it into the 21st century so that we’ve got something really attractive and really proud of.”
Wasaga’s legacy
Wasaga Beach is home to the largest freshwater beach in the world, stretching 14 miles (22km) long.
Located just an hour and a half north of Toronto, the town has been a popular tourist destination for many Canadians for over a century.
The town’s tourism industry dates to 1909 when the town’s steel bridge crossing the Nottawasaga River was built, connecting both ends of the town we know today.
During World War Two, the town became a popular holiday destination for many families, including soldiers on leave who were stationed at nearby Base Borden.
In 1974, the town was incorporated, and in the 50 years since, the town has grown to a population of 24,862 and counting. Based on 2021 census data, the town is one of the fastest-growing communities in Ontario. Between 2015 and 2019, the town saw a growth of 13 percent.
Joe Bickerstaff is the owner and publisher of The Beach Booster, Wasaga’s only printed local newspaper. He has lived in Wasaga for over 25 years, and before that visited the town frequently since 1963. He remembers the fire well.
“It was a very sad day. I remember hearing the sirens late that night. I heard the wind howling. I knew it was something very dramatic. Something awful,” Bickerstaff said. “And the visual once I saw it was a very sad thing for me and everybody else in the beach.”
In the 17 years since the fire, there have been multiple attempts made to redevelop the beachfront.
In 2010, a $400 million project from a development group led by Dov and Armand Levy fell through after running into financial difficulties.
Joe Bickerstaff said the beachfront ownership was a “disaster” before Mayor Smith stepped in.
Town takes action
In 2015 the town of Wasaga Beach purchased most of the commercial properties at beach area one and two for $13.8 million. With the purchase of the beachfront properties, the town of Wasaga acquired over 70 percent of the commercial properties of beach area one and two. The town purchased the lands with the hopes of developing the beachfront with community input. The purchase was supported by the mayor and council.
Bickerstaff supported the move, as he said the developers who owned it before had no plans for it.
“It put the town in control of the beachfront,” Bickerstaff said.
“This gives the town a lot more control to put a community improvement plan in place to entice developers and other people to come to town,” said Mayor Smith when Wasaga’s council approved the move in April 2015.
A plan was then put in motion to create a Downtown Development Master Plan, with the intention of once and for all redeveloping Wasaga’s beachfront and downtown area, the town’s main tourist hub. The plan was approved and published by Wasaga’s council in 2017.
The town described the plan for its downtown and beachfront as a “vibrant mix of residential, commercial and public uses creates an energetic mass that can become a source of community pride and identity.”
In October 2018 Mayor Smith lost a close election to the town’s Deputy Mayor Nina Bilfolchi.
The town then began negotiating a deal to sell land on the beachfront to Bayloc Developments, in partnership with Zancor, to create a mix of commercial and residential developments on the town’s beachfront. The decision was met with protests by some residents over a lack of transparency and community consultation.
In 2022, Wasaga Beach’s municipal election saw Smith return as mayor. The election also saw many other incumbent councillors lose their seats to new faces.
After the election, the due diligence period for the deal with Bayloc Development Inc., and partner Zancor, concluded and resulted in no deal being reached for the beachfront development. The town’s beachfront development attempts were indeed back to square one.
In August of 2023, Wasaga Beach’s town council voted in supporting a staff recommendation to award a request to proposal (RFP) to FRAM Building Group to process a development plan for Wasaga’s beachfront. Last November, FRAM held public workshop meetings to consult residents on what they want to see at the beachfront.
Andrew McNeill is the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of Wasaga Beach. McNeill as CAO looks after planning and infrastructure and he has been part of the beach redevelopment process with FRAM.
“We’re working with FRAM building Group, who is a successful proponent. We’re developing concept plans that we’ll be sharing with the community this quarter.” McNeill said during an interview in Wasaga’s Council Chambers.
“So, in the next month or two we’re also working through the mechanics of the letter of intent and ultimately a development agreement that will spell out what we’re going to build, how soon, where exactly, and all those details that the community’s looking for.”
Last November, McNeill presented allegations to Wasaga’s council that the previous 2018-2022 administration engaged in “questionable behaviour.” One of those areas is a 2021 beachfront land appraisal.
“The Town has evidence that in April 2021 the previous Mayor and previous CAO had access to a significantly higher appraisal for beachfront lands that was withheld from Council,” the Town said in a statement. “The higher appraisal was valued about $8 million higher than the one presented to Council.”
McNeill spoke about the allegations.
“The issue I have is there were two appraisals done. One was significantly higher than the other, and the higher appraisal was withheld from council. That is not something that municipal employees are supposed to do.” McNeill said. “You share information in a transparent way with the community, with your council, and then council ultimately makes informed decisions.”
I reached out to the former CAO of Wasaga Beach, George Vadeboncoeur, for a statement on the matter. He “respectfully declined” to comment.
McNeill says the matter is now in the hands of the OPP.
“What I will share with you is the investigation is currently active with the OPP, they requested that we not forward that request to the Attorney General until they had concluded their investigation. So, we’ve respected that request. We have not forwarded that yet to the AG. We do plan on doing that, but we are going to let the OPP investigation run.”
The OPP has not publicly commented on the investigation.
Bickerstaff thinks with the matter in the hands of the OPP, and the town moving forward with the RFP with FRAM, that Wasaga Beach’s beachfront redevelopment is finally moving in the right direction.
“We’re very excited about FRAM, we are eagerly awaiting the next meeting with FRAM to hear more and see what they’ve come up with,” Bickerstaff said.
A new horizon
In a sit-down interview with the mayor, he highlighted the town’s progress with FRAM on the beachfront redevelopment.
“I’m happy and proud to say that this council, pushed, has pushed very hard. We are very close to signing, an agreement, and a letter of intent with, FRAM building group, and the partners that they may bring to the table, in order to start the redevelopment,” Mayor Smith said.
The mayor says he wants to see the redevelopment start in 2025.
“Next summer, if I have my way, we’ll have shovels in the ground and be started.”
Peter Gribbin is excited to see FRAM reveal their plans soon.
“I’m pretty optimistic that we’re going to see something that’s very acceptable,” Gribbin said. “It probably won’t please 100 percent of the people because you never can. But I think it’s going to give the beachfront a much more lively 21st-century look.”
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the town of Wasaga Beach being incorporated. Mayor Smith believes Wasaga’s next 50 years will be bright.
“I just hope that future councils will have the forethought, and the wisdom, to also listen to the past and look at the past,” the mayor said. “To move the plan, we have in place and are continuing to work on forward to create, for this municipality, a full and complete community that has all the services we require.”
Mayor Smith and CAO McNeill said the full beachfront plan, based on community consultations last Fall and FRAM’s proposals, will be revealed in the next six to eight weeks.
Aside from the beachfront, Wasaga has seen two major projects recently open. A Gateway Casino opened in the town in November of 2022, helping bring in revenue for the town, which it has reinvested in services such a new medical clinic. A new library and twin pad hockey arena was opened in January of this year.
Bickerstaff says the future is bright for Wasaga.
“We’ve got a world-class developer that understands waterfront development, both residential and commercial. I’m very excited to see in the meeting what his plans are. He [FRAM] is very adamant about getting public input,” Bickerstaff said. “So the public and residents of Wasaga Beach will have an opportunity to voice their thoughts.”
Wasaga Beach has events planned throughout the summer to attract tourism and celebrate the town’s anniversary.
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