‘Turning point for housing construction in Canada’: Apartments could replace former Barrie police station

One thousand new homes will soon bring life to Sperling Drive in Barrie—“A turning point for housing construction in Canada,” states Oliver David Krieg, president of Intelligent City.

On Oct. 16, a leader in industrialized housing and prefabricated mass timber systems, Intelligent City, announced a landmark partnership with Sustainable Development Group (SDG) to deliver hundreds of residences to the Barrie community.

What to expect

People can expect to see four timber towers above a two-story concrete base situated at the former Barrie Police Service station near St. Vincent Street and Highway 400.

“Barrie will be home to a project that not only addresses the urgent need for housing but also showcases Canadian leadership in innovation. The 35 Sperling Drive development represents an important milestone for Canada’s housing sector, proving that industrialized construction can deliver high-quality, low-carbon homes at scale,” stated Krieg. “It accelerates Intelligent City’s expansion in Ontario, validates its product platform, and positions the company to drive faster, more affordable, and more sustainable housing delivery across Canada.”

According to Intelligent City officials, this scalable project is expected to boost productivity, reduce construction time, lower carbon impacts, and deliver high-quality housing here in Simcoe County.

“Using modern technologies or modern methods, such as prefabricated components that accelerate the construction timelines, which brings the overall cost down is one of those solutions to do that,” said Kreig.

“Intelligent City accelerates the supply of urban housing using renewable resources and industrialized manufacturing to empower people to live in better homes and communities,” the group stated in an October release.

This design, according to the team, will be delivered using Intelligent City’s prefabricated mass timber systems —the same platform undergoing construction at 230 Royal York Road in Toronto. This is Ontario’s tallest residential mass timber building at the time of completion this fall.

The company says it is taking a product approach to the design and manufacturing of prefabricated mass timber building systems for mid- to high-rise urban.

The project is slated to begin in 2027 with brand new rental units ready for occupancy by 2029.