A Better Future for Downtown Collingwood Is Coming
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Sandberg campaign to unveil comprehensive Downtown Parking & Revitalization Concept next week.
COLLINGWOOD, ON — Downtown Collingwood deserves more than additional parking—it deserves a stronger future.
Next week, mayoral candidate Norm Sandberg will unveil a comprehensive vision demonstrating how three under-utilized municipally owned parking properties could help deliver additional public parking, attainable workforce housing, new commercial space, and renewed economic vitality.
The concepts have been prepared to demonstrate what is possible while respecting the Town’s Heritage Conservation District Design Guidelines. Rather than consuming valuable downtown land with surface parking alone, the concepts illustrate how carefully planned redevelopment can create significantly more public parking while strengthening the downtown economy.
The initiative also reflects the growing national conversation surrounding downtown revitalization, including the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ emphasis on complete communities, housing and resilient downtown economies.
“Downtown land is one of our community’s most valuable public assets. It should be working harder for the people who own it.”
“Public land should deliver multiple public benefits. Parking, housing and commercial activity are not competing objectives—they can reinforce one another when planned as a single integrated project.”
“Replacing under-utilized surface parking with carefully designed mixed-use development creates a stronger tax base, supports local business, provides workforce housing opportunities and increases the total number of public parking spaces available downtown.”
Sandberg emphasized that these preliminary concepts are intended to begin a community conversation rather than present a predetermined outcome.
“These are not promises to build a specific project. They are proof that we can think differently about municipal land and solve several problems at once. I want residents to see what’s possible before we decide together where we go next.” — Norm Sandberg
The full proposal, including concept illustrations, planning rationale, parking analysis, financial considerations and additional policy priorities, will be released next week as part of the launch of Norm4Mayor.ca.
Three Sites. One Vision. More Parking. More Housing. A Stronger Downtown.
Sharing is SO MUCH APPRECIATED!
