Province launches Job Site Challenge
If you or someone you know has a few hundred acres of land to spare, the Government of Ontario wants to hear from you.
The province released details of its Job Site Challenge yesterday. A first in Canada, the challenge invites municipalities, economic development agencies and industrial property owners to propose mega sites—large tracts of land between 500 to 1,500 acres that are or could be zoned for heavy industrial use, and which are or could be serviced by utilities—that could be developed into manufacturing plants.
The challenge is modeled on similar initiatives in several U.S. jurisdictions, like New York, Tennessee and Alabama that have helped attract large-scale investments to build auto or other advanced-manufacturing plants.
"With smarter regulations and reductions in the cost of doing business in the province, we're restoring the competitive advantage that made Ontario the economic engine of Canada," said Prabmeet Sarkaria, Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction. "The Job Site Challenge will build on our investment strategy, help us compete with other North American jurisdictions for large-scale manufacturing investments and market Ontario as a competitive place to do business."
The province says it will assess proposed sites on such criteria as size and configuration, location, surrounding property uses, incentives, site condition and previous uses, and community benefits. Sites do not need to be shovel-ready, nor do they need to meet all criteria.
An internationally recognized site selector will endorse and validate sites for inclusion in a provincial inventory of certified mega sites. The government and the site selector will then lead a marketing campaign to showcase these selected sites to international and domestic investors. The first shovel-ready sites are expected to be made available to investors next fall.
"One of the biggest barriers that automakers face if they want to build or expand an auto assembly plant is availability of large-scale sites," said Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. "Through the Job Site Challenge, we'll identify the best sites in the province that can help bring good-paying jobs to the community. A new auto assembly plant — like the eight we already have in Ontario — would create thousands of jobs for hardworking Ontarians."
The Job Site Challenge program builds on the province’s existing Investment Ready: Certified Site Program that certifies smaller sites for industrial use.
Proposals will be accepted between January 1 and March 31 of next year.