Rogers planning massive new office campus in heart of downtown Brampton

Rogers Communications has obtained metropolis council’s assist to maneuver its present Brampton workplace location to the town’s downtown core.

The Canadian communications big is planning a roughly $100-million, minimal 200,000-square-foot workplace complicated that might additionally embody retail, residential and extra workplace areas adjoining to the Brampton GO station on Church Road.

Rogers gave a presentation to metropolis council in regards to the proposed challenge at its common assembly on Jan. 26, and requested the town’s assist for a pair of Minister’s Zoning Orders (MZOs) to rezone the brand new proposed web site and the corporate’s current Brampton places of work situated at 8200 Dixie Rd.

The proposed web site is at present owned by Metrolinx however Rogers is seeking to buy it from the province.

“This is able to end in hundreds of high-paying expertise jobs being retained in Brampton,” Rogers vice-president of company actual property John Mallovy informed council.

“This web site alongside the Brampton-Toronto-Waterloo innovation hall considerably expands Rogers’ transit-accessible worker catchment space. Securing this web site is crucial to Rogers’ capacity to make a long-term funding in a brand new Brampton campus,” he added.

Rogers can be seeking to redevelop the lands on Dixie Street the place its present Brampton places of work are situated, which would come with as much as 1.2 million sq. toes of commercial and warehousing area and 25 acres of residential improvement area.

“It is a transformational time for Brampton and for Rogers. (Town) is making nice strides within the revitalization (of its) downtown (and) Rogers want to take part in, and be a catalyst and speed up this optimistic change,” Mallovy mentioned.

Council voted unanimously 11-0 in assist of Rogers’ proposal and to advocate for the MZO requests to the provincial authorities to make it occur.

“We’re speaking about one among Canada’s iconic corporations saying they see our downtown as a possible centre of gravity for extra funding that they may also help be a catalyst for … That is unimaginable information,” Mayor Patrick Brown mentioned. “It is a very big day for our group.”

Brown added he believes the brand new campus would match properly into the town’s present plans to remodel Brampton’s downtown right into a expertise hub.

Council has already authorised plans for a Centre for Innovation within the downtown, which it's calling an “iconic gateway constructing that can provide a brand new central library, collaborative area for post-secondary establishments.”

Provincial funding for that challenge was authorised by the earlier provincial Liberal authorities underneath former premier Kathleen Wynne. Nevertheless, funding for the brand new campus was pulled by the present administration underneath Premier Doug Ford shortly after he took workplace in 2018.

The native enterprise group can be completely happy in regards to the proposal, with each the Downtown Brampton BIA and Brampton Board of Commerce voicing their assist.

“That is an unimaginable alternative for our metropolis. A significant company like Rogers, that has been dedicated to Brampton and our group for a few years, desires to proceed this relationship,” mentioned BIA govt director Suzy Godefroy whereas studying a letter to council on behalf of the BIA’s management.

“With this funding in our individuals and group we are going to see a rise in jobs and financial progress, particularly for our downtown core. The Downtown Brampton BIA totally helps our council to request an MZO from the province for this challenge,” she added.

Neighborhood advocacy group New Brampton additionally delegated to council expressing its roughly 4,000 members' assist for Rogers’ potential transfer to the downtown core and redevelopment of its current web site.

Correction — Jan. 27, 2022: This text has been edited from a earlier model that incorrectly acknowledged the proposed web site was the identical web site beforehand earmarked for the Ryerson College satellite tv for pc campus in 2018.