A RESIDENTIAL FOCUS In Laurentian Valley residential development is guided by provincial housing mandates and a strong focus on community planning. The township is experiencing rapid growth, with several key residential developments underway. These include the Taxton and Kirkland subdivisions, which will offer approximately 50 privately serviced lots near the Ottawa River. The River Point subdivision, currently in the draft approval stage, will add 156 residential units, with additional phases already under review. According to Neff, the East End growth area has the potential for up to 1,700 new units, while the West End is also poised for substantial expansion through the Laurentian Meadows subdivision and new projects in partnership with CreativeDev Ventures. “Those are really going to be kicking off in the next couple years, into the next 10 years,” he reports.“We think it is going to be a quality of life that a lot of people want to have, and hopefully they are going to come to the township of Laurentian Valley to get it.” A PROACTIVE PLAN With this volume of growth comes a need for infrastructure investment, and the township has already obtained funding to help lay the groundwork for future development.“We’ve secured $579,687.50 from the province of Ontario to develop roughly one kilometer of Robinson Lane to help connect critical infrastructure to new housing developments,” details Neff. This will support the construction of roads, sidewalks, and underground services to enable future homes to be built efficiently. “However, we’re still actively seeking funding to support the roughly $2 million in infrastructure needed to connect these developments for water and sewer and storm water to accelerate these projects,” he admits. To avoid delays in other parts of the township, officials are already planning the next step, working 48 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 07
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