Supermarket seek: Owner of Barrie’s ex-Collier Centre site wants residents to push for downtown grocery store

Downtown Barrie has been shopping for a grocery store for years.

Now, the owner of one well-known property within the city core is openly trying to attract a supermarket. Morrison Financial, which operates Lakeview Corporate Centre at (the former Collier Centre site), has released a survey that asks residents to make their pitch for a grocer.

“We know the demographics are right for a full-service grocer, but we have to prove it,” Morrison Financial president David Morrison told Simcoe.com. “I am not sure if you have seen the movie “Field of Dreams,” but we need to convince a grocer that, ‘if you build it, they will come’. The whole community wants it; they just have to express themselves.”

Collier Centre has been unsuccessful in this type of venture before — the building was initially proposed by Mady Developments and it was to feature Sobeys as an anchor tenant. However, forced Sobeys to pull out of the project in 2015.

Morrison Financial acquired the property in late 2018 from Fortress Real Developments, after Fortress . The site includes residential condominium units and about 187,000 square feet of total space for an office tower, and two storeys of retail.

Pizza shop Jimmy Chews and the Canadian National Institute for the Blind have leased space in the building. The restaurant should open there in February.  

Coun. Keenan Aylwin, whose ward includes the downtown, said a grocery store, when coupled with the Barrie Farmers’ Market and other local retailers, could help the area become a “vibrant, complete community.”

“There are many seniors and young people living in downtown Barrie who may not own a vehicle,” he said. “A grocery store would create a more walkable community and contribute to food security. We also need the population density to support amenities like a grocery store in the downtown. I would encourage those who can to support the farmers’ market and the many small businesses downtown who also contribute to food security.”

Morrison said his company is giving away 21 prizes to survey participants, including one year of free shopping, up to a maximum of $5,000. To participate in the survey, visit .