Barrie: 1)Barrie on pace for record housing year as 341 new rental units announced; 2) Officials further detail Barrie’s waterfront performing arts centre project;3)Barrie Police Service projects near $1.28M deficit for 2026 after Q1 update; 4(Barrie’s electric bus pilot shows reduced winter range but competitive costs

1)Barrie on pace for record housing year as 341 new rental units announced

Courtesy Barrie360.com

By Julius Hern, May 21, 2026

Housing construction in Barrie is on pace for a record-breaking year, with city officials announcing Thursday that two new purpose-built rental developments will bring 341 new units—including 69 affordable homes—to the community.

Speaking at a news conference held at the site of a development on Coulter Street, Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall said the city has already seen unprecedented growth in housing starts with around 570 units started during the first four months of 2026.

That marks 170 per cent growth compared to 2025, and is a record amount through the first four months a year for the city.

According to the mayor, the city is currently on pace to see between 2,500 and 3,500 new housing units begin construction this year, which is well above Barrie’s previous annual high of 1,970 units.

The two rental projects, being developed by Street Properties in partnership with YYZed Project Management, include:

188 rental units at 53 Coulter Street, including 38 affordable units

153 rental units at 375 Yonge Street, including 31 affordable units

Together, the developments form part of Barrie’s broader affordable housing strategy, which the city says now includes more than 770 affordable housing units either approved or under construction.

A big reason the city is seeing the high level in housing development is its development charge waiver (DC) program, which developers could apply for between August 14 and December 31. It aimed to remove some financial barriers for residential developments that are five storeys and above with a signed agreement to provide at least 20 per cent affordable housing.

In a memo to city councillors on Jan. 28, city staff said a total of 12 eligible building permit applications were received, as of Jan. 1. If all applications meet the May 31, 2026 building activity deadline, Barrie could add 1,946 new housing units—456 of them deemed affordable—for a period of 25 years.

Nuttall said the city’s goal is not only to increase housing supply, but to integrate affordable housing throughout the community rather than concentrating it in a single area.

“One of the things I learned growing up in government housing is that you don’t want all of the affordable units to be in one place,” he said. “We want a community that’s really built as one community.”

He added that spreading affordable housing across multiple developments creates “an integrated community where everybody’s living together, working together.”

Construction is already underway at both sites. Sam DiPasquale, director at YYZed Project Management representing the developer of the two sites, credited the city’s approval process with helping move projects forward quickly and added that occupancy at the Coulter Street project is expected to begin within about two years. The Yonge Street development will follow on a similar timeline.

He also emphasized the projects are being designed with larger unit sizes than many newer condominium developments.

“These are livable-sized units,” DiPasquale said. “These are not tiny condo boxes that everybody around here is doing.”

The city says many of the affordable units being developed through its incentive programs are reserved for Barrie residents. Nuttall noted that developers participating in Barrie’s development charge waiver program must agree to prioritize local residents for affordable units.

The mayor also signalled more housing-related announcements could be coming in the weeks ahead.

“We aren’t done yet,” Nuttall said. “There’s work that needs to be done to reduce specifically on purchase housing and home ownership.”

2)Officials further detail Barrie’s waterfront performing arts centre project

Courtesy Barrie360.com

By Julius Hern, May 20, 2026

One of Barrie’s biggest and most ambitious developments is officially on the horizon.

Local dignitaries gathered on Wednesday afternoon to unveil the sign marking the eventual location of a roughly 4,100 sq. metre performing arts centre on Simcoe Street.

The future cultural hub being touted as what will be the “No. 1 people place” in Barrie and a project that will bring the city—downtown specifically—an economic boost.

“It’s going to transform our waterfront,” Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall touted at Wednesday’s event.

Based on recommendations from consultant Marshall Green, the facility will be built on the current Sea Cadets building site adjacent to the city’s transient marina.

The Sea Cadets are expected to be moved into their new home near the General John Hayter Southshore Community Centre in the fall, which will be followed by the demolition of their current site. Construction on the new Sea Cadets facility will begin in the coming weeks.

City staff say that a groundbreaking for the performing arts centre is expected to happen in early 2027, with its opening expected in mid-2029.

“The city is not a city unless you also encompass the arts and culture community,” Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte MP Doug Shipley said before referencing the Barrie Colts’ 2026 Eastern Conference championship’s galvanization of the local sports community.

“That was a great time to show community spirit,” he added. “We need a facility like this to now bring [the arts and culture] community together, and showcase what we have here.”

Toronto-based firm Hariri Pontarini Architects has been responsible for the design of the $85 million facility, with up to nearly 500 sq. metres of additional program space being incorporated (costing no more than $5 million). As of the last update to city council in January, the project had reached the 50% design development stage.

Founding partner Siamak Hariri, who has worked with City officials on the plans, described the project as “collaboratory,” saying that local artists outlining their desire for a space to experiment with musical and theatrical arts inspired the process.

He also said that the design purposefully pays homage to the railroading history along the shore of Kempenfelt Bay.

“It is going to be an arc which follows the (original) railway,” Hariri said. “It has a form which very intentionally gives a nod to the very beginnings of those wonderful forms that existed on the waterfront.”

“We hope it’s a bit like Alice in Wonderland where you go through the cupboard and you see one of the most beautiful waterfronts in the country.”

Their plans include a 600-seat performance hall, a 200-seat rehearsal and events studio, a restaurant, gala seating system, and other supporting amenities.

3)Barrie Police Service projects near $1.28M deficit for 2026 after Q1 update

Courtesy Barrie360.com

By Julius Hern, May 21, 2026

Despite receiving a record budget increase last fall, Barrie Police Service is once again projecting it will finish the year in the red.

It’s projecting an operating deficit for 2026 of $1,277,471, according to its first-quarter financial update, with rising staffing costs, reduced provincial funding, and long-term technology investments contributing to the shortfall.

The projection, discussed during Thursday’s board meeting, represents about 1.7 per cent of the service’s approved annual operating budget and comes as police navigate higher-than-expected staffing demands and changes in provincial grant funding.

The projected shortfall follows an overall deficit of $975,287 in 2025, or 1.4 per cent of the annual budget. When the year-end budget variance report was presented to the board in March, much of the additional spending was attributed to overtime costs that came in more than 20 per cent over budget due to “major occurrences and complex investigations.”

“It is very difficult for us to deliver on our obligation to the service to ensure that you have a service with the right staffing, the right equipment, and the right resources,” board member Arif Khan said.

Despite that shortfall, the City of Barrie approved an 8.53 per cent increase to the police budget for 2026, bringing it to $78.4 million—the largest budget increase in the service’s history.

The largest contributor to the projected deficit remains personnel-related costs.

The report shows increased use of part-time and contract staff to respond to growing service demands, alongside more retirements than anticipated and members off on WSIB leave.

As of Mar. 31, salary and benefit costs totalled $15.7 million, or 21.3 per cent of the annual budget. The service noted that ongoing staffing transitions are also contributing to budget pressures.

“We’re about to find ourselves behind the eight ball again from a staffing perspective regarding the fact that we have continued to struggle with funding, but we are seeing continued growth, certainly with the boundary expansion and population expansion,” Khan said.

Like in 2025, overtime spending continues to trend upward, accounting for 19.1 per cent of the annual budget year-to-date, largely tied to operational demand and call volume.

However, police noted overtime spending is expected to remain lower than 2025 levels and said non-essential overtime is not permitted.

Operating expenditures are also expected to exceed budget, driven in part by an investment in records management software integration.

The project is intended to connect internal systems used by the service, improving efficiency for both administrative staff and frontline officers. While it increases short-term spending, the upgrade is expected to generate cost savings beginning in 2028.

The service also noted it received less software-related grant funding than anticipated, adding further pressure to the operating budget.

Meanwhile, provincial funding for the Court Security and Prisoner Transportation (CSPT) program came in approximately $159,000 lower than expected, making revenue another key factor in the projected deficit.

“We were expecting a big decrease this year,” finance manager Tyrell Turner said. “It turned out to be even higher than we were expecting.”

The CSPT program supports courthouse security and prisoner transport operations, which cost more than $5.1 million in 2025 alone.

The province has also discontinued the Preventing Auto Theft (PAT) grant, which is expected to reduce revenue by roughly $300,000.

However, Turner said there is still optimism the service could receive funding through the Community Safety and Policing (CSP) and Bail Compliance and Warrant Apprehension (BCWA) grants.

Not all indicators were negative. Year-to-date revenue sits at 20 per cent of budget, driven mainly by increased secondment activity, including members assigned to the Ontario Police College.

Despite the projected deficit, the service said spending remains broadly in line with first-quarter expectations, with net expenditures sitting at 20.6 per cent of the annual budget.

Finance staff say they will continue monitoring financial performance throughout 2026 and report back to the board as conditions evolve.

4)Barrie’s electric bus pilot shows reduced winter range but competitive costs

Courtesy Barrie360.com

By Julius Hern, May 16, 2026

The City of Barrie’s Battery Electric Bus (BEB) pilot is providing early insight into how electric transit vehicles perform in real-world winter conditions, with new data showing a notable drop in range during colder months but overall operating costs remaining comparable to diesel buses.

A staff memorandum circulated on Wednesday outlines results from the winter testing phase of two electric buses, as part of a 12-month pilot program running toward summer 2026.

MONTH	MILAGE (km/kWh)	REGENERATIVE BREAKING RATIO	ESTIMATE RANGE (km)	ELECTRIC HEAT ENERGY USE (kWh)
December	0.66	0.25	196	40
January	0.55	0.22	163	52
February	0.61	0.27	182	59

Regenerative braking ratio = regenerative energy / BEB energy consumption

Across the winter period, the average estimated range dropped to about 179 kilometres. This follows average ranges of 290 kilometres during the summer phase and 285 kilometres in the fall.

City staff attribute the decrease to colder temperatures, increased cabin heating demand, and reduced regenerative braking on icy roads. Temperatures during the winter study reportedly averaged around -10 C.

Energy used to heat bus cabins increased substantially over the winter, rising from 9.15 kWh in the fall to 50.17 kWh in winter, according to staff data.

This reduced available energy for propulsion, resulting in lower range and higher per-kilometre operating costs.

Despite winter challenges, the memo notes that overall operating costs for electric buses remain close to diesel equivalents.

Across summer, fall, and winter conditions combined, diesel buses ran at approximately $0.43 per kilometre, while electric buses cost $0.41 per kilometre.

However, staff note the gap shifts during winter months, when BEB operating costs rise to approximately $0.68 per kilometre, largely due to increased heating demand. At the same time, diesel costs increased slightly to approximately $0.48 per kilometre.

City staff suggest there may be opportunities to improve electric bus efficiency by adjusting the use of auxiliary heating systems and refining operational settings.

OPERATOR FEEDBACK GENERALLY POSITIVE

Transit operators have provided generally positive feedback on the two electric buses in the fleet, highlighting quiet operation, smoother ride quality, and improved driving comfort.

Barrie Transit has 46 conventional diesel buses in its fleet.

However, some concerns were raised about battery range during colder conditions, particularly when heating systems are in use, contributing to what operators described as “range anxiety.”

NEXT STEPS

City staff caution that the winter testing period included abnormal weather events, which may not fully represent typical seasonal operating conditions in Barrie. As a result, staff recommend continuing data collection through additional winter cycles to improve long-term performance analysis.

The 12-month pilot began in July and will continue through summer 2026, when metrics and performance analysis will be presented to city councillors upon its conclusion.