By Robin MacLennan
Ontario Construction Report staff writer
The City of Mississauga is creating an incentive program to help transform a former waterfront industrial area into a 20-acre innovation campus. The Lakeview Innovation District, part of the 177-acre Lakeview Village development, will become an employment hub where people can research, test and develop solutions in state-of-the-art offices, flex-offices and lab spaces.
Council will create a community improvement plan (CIP) that could include incentives such as:
- clean technology, including low carbon technology
- life sciences, and
- information and communications technology
“Waterfront redevelopments like Lakeview provide a unique, generational opportunity to foster innovation and spur economic growth and leading-edge technology,” said Christina Kakaflikas, director, Mississauga economic development office. “Mississauga is the second-largest employment hub in the Greater Toronto Area and the second-largest economy in Ontario.
“The Lakeview Innovation District will solidify our position as a major economic hub by creating thousands of highly skilled jobs in the key sectors we’re invested in growing on our waterfront.”
The Lakeview Innovation District is poised to become a centre for innovation and new business, connecting researchers, entrepreneurs, office and lab workers to local and regional transit, parks and trails, residential, retail and cultural space including year-round arts and recreational programming.
Once the survey has closed, staff will consider all feedback received and bring a report to the city’s Planning and Development Committee later this spring. The report will outline recommendations for the CIP, including financial tools and eligibility requirements.