Ontario Construction News 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.”
A survey is available until April 21 to collect feedback on types of incentives that would help to spur interest in the area.
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.
To learn more about the Lakeview Innovation District and take the survey, visit https://yoursay.mississauga.ca/lakeview-innovation-district
The Lakeview Innovation District is part of IDEA – the Mississauga Innovation District. IDEA is Mississauga’s collaborative lead for Entrepreneurship & Innovation.
