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Orca Equity hosts information session about Tottenham development

August 18, 2022   ·   0 Comments

Orca Equity, a financing group which owns a considerable amount of land in the northwest corner of Tottenham, held a public information session at the Tottenham Community Centre on Monday, August 8, to discuss future plans for the property.

The announcement for the meeting came largely through social media and surprised many local residents who had never heard of Orca Equity or were aware they had any stake in local property.

The announcement stated, “Join us for a community open house meeting where we will share our vision for Tottenham.”

Orca Equity purchased the property from Woodington Lake Inc., which owns the Woodington Lake Golf Club; however, the purchase was never made public, which left people wondering why a new company was arriving in Town to discuss an area that had previously been up for discussion by a different organization.

Woodington Lake Inc., had made three Minister’s Zoning Order proposals, but withdrew each one prior to meetings with Town Council, which led many residents to question Woodington Lake’s sincerity.

The Woodington Lake development proposal was opposed by many Tottenham residents who felt the development would change the dynamic of the town.

The property stretches from the Adjala Tecumseth Town Line on the west side to Tottenham Road on the east, and north to the 6th Line.

Several Orca representatives were at the event to answer questions and explain what Orca Equity was all about, and they provided a questionnaire for residents to fill out, if so desired.

The questionnaire did raise some questions itself, when people pointed out the first question was “Do you live in Markham or Stouffville?”

One resident asserted the questions were all “leading questions” that assumed everyone was already in favour of development on the land, rather than asking an opinion on proposed development in the area.

Orca representatives explained that they are not a building company and when the time came to actually get shovels in the ground, they would contract that out to a building company.

“We see opportunity and we buy, we go through the process, and then when it’s ready, we will hand it off to somebody who does something better than us, which is build,” said Orca spokesman Berardino Quinto.

There is currently no development plan laid out, as the they are waiting for the Municipal Comprehensive Review to be completed.

“There’s a process involved, we’re not cowboys,” Mr. Quinto said.

One spokesperson said, “We having nothing to sell here today. We are here to pick your brains and find out what you want to have in your community.”

He added that the entire process is very long term and could take decades to complete.

“We’re a developer that’s been around for quite a while with different disciplines, like high-rise, mid-rise, low-rise, finance, and we go into areas we believe in and invest heavily into the process and add some value to the communities,” Mr. Quinto explained about Orca. “That map that we presented today, is exactly as it is. It’s farms and we happen to own them. We’re asking the Town to consider us. We’re here for long term. We have a successful business that will continue to deliver properly.”

One spokesperson said the company is aware of possible limitations on developing the land and they will abide by all regulations imposed.

The meeting did seem to alleviate concerns from some residents that a massive development was being considered when Orca representatives explained why they were there and what they were all about.

By Brian Lockhart

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