A Waterfront Hotel Along With a Park-Over-Parking Lot

Proposed Development Promises to Attract Business and Visitors to Downtown Core

Barrie City Hall is mulling over allowing a hotel down the street, along with a different way to park there. The regular Monday night meeting of council began with the Invest Barrie team pleading the case for a downtown hotel, with claims it would invigorate the economy in the core, along with a nearby underground parking lot. Invest Barrie says a downtown hotel, a part of Barrie’s long term commercial master plan since 2006, would bring more visitors to the core, and attract complimentary business. The Invest Barrie staff even suggested an up-to 19 storey hotel could be built right on the corner of Dunlop and Mulcaster Streets, complete with 132 hotel units, and 93 residential. A staff report given to council after the presentation indicates a development application expected to be submitted to City Hall not only hopes for a hotel/condominium, but also the exploration of a “park over parking” garage directly underneath the adjacent Sam Cancilla Park. The concept calls for an underground parking lot to be housed beneath a redesigned park space, while no official plans or applications have been submitted for either the hotel or parking lot.