BURLINGTON Halton community's economic development plans includes shoreline projects Burlington focuses economic development on neighbourhoods and 'sense of place' Canadian Design and Construction Report staff writer Burlington, a community located at the western end of Lake Ontario, is focusing its economic development initia- tives in developing neighbourhoods. “The city is consciously pursuing a goal of creating a sense of place within communities, and the economic de- velopment office has taken a proactive role in moving this plan forward,” said Frank Keown, Burlington Economic Development Corporation (BEDC)'s executive direc- tor. Burlington belongs both to the Greater Toronto Area and the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area. One of its major strengths is the quality of life for its approximately 170,000 residents. He says part of this strategy has in- cluded identifying a number of plazas that are central to neighbourhoods for mixed use redevelopment to ensure communities are livable, walkable and that there are gathering places to bring people together. The city has also made a series of investments in its waterfront over the past 10 years to up- date and upgrade it, including the $14.4 million Brant Street Pier that opened in 2013. The S-shaped pier extends 450 ft. from Spencer Smith Park over Lake Ontario and pro- vides unique views of the lake and Burlington's shoreline. McKeown says a 4 km stretch of undeveloped water- front, which includes a major park and a beach park, is unique for the GTA area and a key focus for the city. “We have a new convention centre hotel for the area we expect will break ground in 2015 or 2016 that will integrate with the street and include a large plaza with public ac- cess.” With only about 10 per cent of available land undeveloped, much of the city’s con- struction is focused on infill and intensifi- cation. “Our designated green space makes up 53 per cent of our land so we have very little work on the residential side of things.” Recent projects have included the $29 million LEED Gold Burlington Performing Arts Centre, the $45 million Haber Recre- ation Centre, the Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital redevelopment and expansion project and downtown streetscape initia- tives. 30 – Fall 2014 — The Canadian Design and Construction Report “The city has also put a focus on infrastructure,” he said. “There is a redevelopment and expansion plan for the QEW corridor that will include collaboration with McMas- ter University and their DeGroote School of Business that lies within that corridor.” He said Burlington participates in the GTA Marketing Alliance and is working as well with regional partners in- cluding Milton and Halton to promote assets like the 400- acre Milton Education Village Innovation Centre. Another component of BEDC’s strategy involves more feet-to-the- street initiatives. “We want to try to spend more time face-to-face with the businesses in our com- munity to better understand who they are and what they need.” He says the goal is to ensure the ability to answer the question of how economic development can help grow existing local busi- ness. McKeown says about half of the city’s residents work for the region’s 750 to 800 smaller com- panies. Only about 50 businesses in the city employ more than 200 people. The city has a diverse economy with ro- bust manufacturing and strong professional services and water sectors. The city has been ranked fifth overall as one of Canada’s Best Places to Live by MoneySense magazine and as the top medium-sized city.