Background Report - Town of Georgina

SUTTON SECONDARY PLAN EMPLOYMENT AND COMMERCIAL LAND 1
Employment Land
The Region of York completed an update of the Region’s vacant employment land inventory in 2005 (updated
from the 2001 survey). The results are presented in the table below and include the following highlights:
There is a total vacant employment land inventory of 2,862 net hectares (7,972 net acres) across the Region.
The Town of Georgina accounts for only 127 hectares or 4.4% of the Region’s total (this is before the planned
Keswick Business Park- which would add roughly 186 additional hectares, more than doubling the Town’s
inventory).
Only 4.2 acres were absorbed in Georgina during the 2001-2005 period, or 1.2 acres per year – all of this
took place in Keswick, not in Sutton, and represent less than 0.5% of the regional absorption during that
period.
Presently, the Town of Georgina has very limited marketable employment land or industrial space (it is not
tracked by major GTA real estate brokers, nor is it regularly listed for sale or lease) and, as indicated in the
table above, represents a small part of the current York Region employment land structure.
Over time, and especially as Highway 404 is extended north, it is anticipated that the market for employment land
in Georgina will develop. As was outlined in the analysis for the Keswick Business Park, in order for the Region
to reach its employment targets, marketable employment land in Georgina is required – and this will be largely
fulfilled by the planned Keswick Business Park.
Transportation infrastructure is crucial for employment lands, providing for the efficient movement of goods and
access to markets. Without significant access to transportation routes, employment areas are not competitive
and are unlikely to succeed.
The proposed Keswick Business Park adds approximatly 186 net hectares (459 net acres) of employment land.
With its superior location along Woodbine Avenue close to existing retail amenities and, as the most southern
urban area in Georgina, closer to established employment areas and future extensions of Highway 404, this
employment area will effectively serve as the primary employment area for the Town of Georgina. If approved,
the Keswick Business Park employment lands will largely preclude the need for substantial employment lands
elsewhere in the Town for the next 10 – 20 years.