City green lights renovations at historic train station for youth centre

The City of Orillia is moving ahead with plans to relocate its Youth Centre to the historic former train station at 150 Front Street South.

Council gave the green light at Monday’s meeting for staff to begin several parts of the project, which the City says will create a fully operating facility once the work is complete.

According to a Nov. 27 report from the Environment and Infrastructure Services Department, the plan includes three main steps, relocating the Youth Centre from its leased space at 9 Front Street, completing upgrades needed to run a youth and senior centre on the site, and starting a fundraising effort to help pay for the project.

The City says the current Youth Centre is about 3,600 square feet, while the historic train station is slightly smaller at about 3,394 square feet. The site includes green space, a parking lot with lighting and the former station building, which was originally built in 1917. It was heavily renovated in 1989 and sold by the City in 2019 before being reacquired earlier this year.

City staff say the structure’s foundation and exterior are still in good condition, but the interior will need major updates, including removing designated substances and improving accessibility and fire safety features. The building will also need modifications to suit youth programs.

The report explains that an earlier capital project was intended to secure a site that could host both youth and senior programming. After assessing the train station property, the City determined the building does not have enough space to operate both programs full-time. As a result, the project focus has shifted to renovating the site for youth use only.

Council has set aside $1.5 million toward the Youth Centre project in the 2026 capital budget. With council’s approval now in place, staff will begin detailed costing and planning work.

“We are really excited for next steps, to start the real hard look at the space and make it our own. Lots of work in front of us now to make this a reality,” wrote Kevin Gangloff, the Orillia Youth Centre’s manager, in an email to CTV News.

No timeline has been set for completion of the project.