Wasaga Beach Renaissance
In the early 19th century, Wasaga Beach was a major route that fur traders used to get to the fantastic North West. By the mid-20th century, the town, which boasts the longest freshwater beach in the world, had morphed into a well loved resort spot for Toronto area water-lovers. Development occurred in sprawling concentric circles from the waterfront inland, with no focused downtown, and the cottages that once sparkled in the summer sun gradually faded with age and wear. Today, Wasaga Beach is undergoing a renaissance, with new developments rejuvenating this lakeside jewel – and Stonebridge By The Bay is leading the way.
“We have spent the last 12 years putting together over 90 acres of land with the intention of making a right master-plotted community that will become a residential and commercial centre for Wasaga Beach,” says Mark Crowe, a principal in Stonebridge Building Group. “We traveled all over North America for thoughts on how we could make Stonebridge stand out in the way that well-known coastal towns such as Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Granville Island in Vancouver do. We studied the architecture of Robert Stern, and we combined elements from these examples with Wasaga Beach’s visual heritage from the early 20th century. The result will be a community of modern commercial businesses and residences with porches, gambrel roofs and other architectural highlights that hint at the past.”
The professionals at Stonebridge Building Group were sure they were on to something once they heard WalMart was coming to Wasaga Beach. “We knew at that point that this area would be a major town centre,” Crowe says. “We widened Main Street in front of our property to four lanes, and we’ve made an actual grid of roads that will connect to River Road East and Zoo Park Road. The plotting for this community has been phenomenal.”