Big Box, Big Business

"It's another indication of steady growth," Landry said Monday.

In west Orillia, the SmartCentres development on Murphy Road is doubling its stores.

Construction on Staples will be completed at the end of May, about the time Michaels and Sleep Country will begin development, said Sandra Kaiser, vice-president of corporate services with SmartCentres.

"I assume the tenants have identified there is a gap in the market for them and they want to fill it," she said. "We're very pleased with the progress on the leasing of this site."

Landry is pleased with the growth.

"These businesses seeing Orillia as a good place to invest is a good sign because they wouldn’t do it if there wasn't the capacity in the economy," he said.

Approximately 40% of Orillians work in sales and service, which takes in the retail, commercial and other service industries, Landry said.

"These new businesses and expanding businesses not only mean more money and sales being generated, but they also represent increased jobs and spending power within our community," he said.

The Walmart Supercentre opened in January 2009, with Winners and Dollarama opening in fall 2010.

"We know that Walmart, Winners and Dollarama are doing quite well," Kaiser said. "They're very pleased with their sales so far."

About 30% of the SmartCentres property is awaiting development.

"These are very good tenants to have on a site and all of these tenants will attract even more tenants," Kaiser said.

SmartCentres is in talks with other potential tenants.

"We're not at liberty to say who the tenants are," Kaiser said.

The developer/operator is trying to secure a restaurant for the site.

"We try to put together a critical mass of services," Kaiser said. "It's nice if you can put them together with restaurants. It makes it more logical for the customer."

Across Highway 12, RioCan is planing to divide the 106,000-square-foot former Walmart building into smaller retail units.

Under RioCan's plan, each retail unit will be no less than 5,381 square feet.

"For us, this... is an opportunity to bring life back into the centre," Eldon Theodore, of MHBC Planning, the agent for RioCan, told The Packet & Times last October, around the time Value Village opened.

Theodore said at that time more tenants could move in by the spring or sooner.

RioCan also plans to construct two new buildings in front of the former Walmart.

The proposed 6,500-square-foot buildings would be located closest to the parking lot's entrance on opposite ends. The buildings could be retail, restaurants or financial institutions, Theodore said.

Orillia saw commercial growth spike in 2010. Commercial building permits in 2009 were $7 million. That number jumped in 2010 to $14 million. Last year finished off with $13 million in commercial building permits.

"It's been kind of a steady trend in the last couple of years for new commercial development," Landry said.

Orillia’s economic development committee (EDC) is working on growing existing businesses in the city.

"It's 10 times easier to grow an existing business than to encourage new business to come to the city," Landry said.

The city's business retention and expansion (BRE) committee, a pillar of the EDC, conducted a study last year, surveying 100 Orillia businesses. It found 45% are considering growth. Of the businesses surveyed, 25 were commercial/retail businesses, including small retail and chain stores, Landry said.

"Those businesses are here, and if they're looking to expand, we want to work with them to find ways to encourage that expansion," he said. "What can we do to encourage that growth as well?"