Uxbridge’s down-town facelift plans on taking big steps in 2025
Lisha Van Nieuwenhove
The Uxbridge Downtown Revitalization Advisory Committee (UDRAC) has announced it has plans for 2025, even offering the possibility of “shovels in the ground very soon on some key sites.”
In a report recently made to council, committee chair Mary Bridger and project manager Judy Risebrough presented a summary of what has been done to date, and gave several indications of what is on deck for the rest of the year.
An artistic rendering of what a new Uxbridge town square in downtown Uxbridge could look like.
Councillor Willie Popp, who sits on UDRAC as a council representative, along with councillor Todd Snooks, asked Bridger to highlight three “takeaways” from the report that the residents of the township needed to know. Bridger replied “Lower Brock is our priority and has the focus of a lot of what we do,” but noted that there is a need for a “holistic view” of the downtown, which includes different areas.
Bridger continued that the committee is focused on getting investment on and prioritizing public green spaces, which would include a proposed Town Square and Centennial Park. Lastly, she said that the committee is working to ensure that the area which contains the train station, referring to it as the Railway District, “maintains a really strong presence in our downtown.”
Bridger also pointed out that UDRAC was making communication a priority, ensuring that the township is kept abreast of what is happening. She said an open house is being planned, and that a communications sub-committee is working to ensure that UDRAC has a presence at various events and venues around the town.
Other 2025 goals and priorities include: hiring a part-time downtown revitalization project manager; completing the expropriation of the northeast corner of Brock and Toronto Streets, which will allow for future redevelopment; securing a developer for the municipal land located in “Lower Brock”; updating the sign by-law based on the Brock Street Heritage guidelines; working with the Heritage Committee to explore options to protect the heritage buildings in the downtown; completing a plan for Centennial Park; and continuing to work with Metrolinx to develop a long-term plan for the Railway District in anticipation of the lease renewal in 2026.
In 2024, UDRAC reported completing a parking study, an environmental study of Centennial Park, and commissioning new visualizations of a revitalized downtown “to entice partners and developers to collaborate on our shared vision.”
Information related to the Uxbridge Downtown Revitalization Project is posted on the MyUxbridgeDowntown webpage.