Page 50 - Dockside Magazine Muskoka, Summer/Fall 2018

URBAN LIVING
Orillia’s downtown revitalization Bputs history, community first
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW FEARMAN
into an area that blends the best features of St. Lawrence Market and Muskoka.
Like Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market, Orillia is rich in culture and history. It’s already home to fabulous dining and cafes, a newly renovated opera house, art galleries and the Orillia Museum of Art and History. In the last few years, Orillia has seen the addition of a vintage boutique hotel, a new arena complex, a state-of-the- art library in the downtown core, a waste-free eco- conscious grocery market, and $55-million recreation facility under construction.
While Orillia has a wealth of urban amenities, the Sunshine City also has the lakeside delights of cottage country.
“In what other city could you kayak to work or walk to the
beach and go for a swim at lunch?” asks Geoff. “Or go paddle boarding after work along Couchiching Beach Park?”
Perfectly situated between Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching, Orillia’s waterways open endless possibilities for boating routes through the Trent-Severn Waterway. With skiing, snowshoeing and countless winter activists within minutes of the downtown, it is vibrant community for all four seasons.
Building on history
Matchedash Lofts is located in the centre of the historic downtown on a former car dealer site now being given new life by Campbell and his business partner Joanne Campbell, a renowned architect with a passion for
in Lake Country
aby Boomers looking lifestyle that so many of us of Orillia to revitalize the
to downsize face two have come to love. city’s downtown and restore its main options: sell their façade to its historic glory.
home in the city and move into a condo or move to their cottage full time.
What if we told you that you could have the best of both? There is another option that’s growing in popularity, one that combines the city amenities with the cottage
“There are many people selling their home in the GTA, or their year-round cottage in Muskoka and are wondering, ‘Where do we go next?’” says Geoff Campbell, managing partner of Oakleigh, a real estate investment, development and management company.
He is working with the City
Charm and growth
Oakleigh has purchased 4.5 acres of the downtown core, including 21 Matchedash Street South – the location of the coming Matchedash Lofts. The site is being used to revitalize Orillia’s downtown and transform it
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