A groundbreaking ceremony took place on August 20th which kicked off construction of a 500,000 square foot Canadian industrial facility that will combine a business park with a motorsport road course and testing facilities.
The Automotive Innovation Park Oro Station project will bring 700 full-time jobs when it is completed and provide 1,800 construction jobs. (Rendering above courtesy of Geoff Campbell, managing partner of Oakleigh Developments/Oro Station and concept developed by Driven).
The park will accommodate the following businesses:
- Automotive Engineering
- Automotive Education
- Automotive Service
- Automotive Supply
- Automotive Manufacturing
An article in Vintage Motorsport stated that the Oro Station will be home to a 4.1 kilometer motor circuit for performance testing, training, research and commercial use. It will be in partnership with Georgian College and will give students an opportunity to engage with the automotive industry and be a center for new auto technologies being developed in Ontario.
Completion is expected in 2022 and construction of the commercial and industrial buildings will begin in 2021.
According to Barrie 360, the Automotive Innovation Park will be located on 200 acres of land on the 7th Line of Oro-Medonte Township across from the Lake Simcoe Regional Airport.
Premier Ford and other dignitaries were on hand for the groundbreaking.
"We make some of the best cars anywhere in the world here in Ontario. There's no reason why we can't make our province the top destination for auto innovation and this project will help us maintain our position as leaders in the sector across North America."
Premier | Doug Ford
Per Driven International, Driven was tasked by the principals of Oro Station to develop a concept for a 200 acre multi-use automotive destination. The brief was to conceive a plan that supports the province's continued growth in the automotive sector which represents 15% of the North America market while also meeting the demands of the wide reaching car enthusiast and collector market across Ontario.
The design at the top shows an automotive business park and includes the following:
- Multi-configuration 4.0 km motor circuit
- Skid pad
- Kick plates
- Manufacturer courtyard
- Car storage facility
- Also become the home of the Bexley Motor Club
Orillia Matters stated that Geoff Campbell is still not in a position to officially announce the partners that have signed on for space in the project, but did say there are about seven on board so far. He said full announcements on partners is planned for the fall. He also said expansion of the nearby Lake Simcoe Regional Airport runway has brought in interest from possible international partnerships.
Campbell's company is also developing Matchdash Lots in downtown Orillia.
One partner he could confirm was Georgian College.
"The partnership with Georgian College is focused around curriculum. It's about getting students in here for co-op opportunities and we're looking to grow into other opportunities. We're looking at integrating...the automotive business school, but also electrical engineering students working on EV electric cars, the innovation group looking at autonomous design...there's a number of different things we're looking at and the educational opportunities."
Managing Partner of Oro Station | Geoff Campbell
The park was granted a minister's zoning order in November 2019 by the provincial government. The order granted a request to change the zoning on the land from industrial employment land, but for aviation-related employment only, to just industrial employment land.