Structure demolished at Hydro One’s Orillia project site, resident says

Hydro One will not confirm a report that a structure at the site of its future provincial grid control centre in West Orillia was recently demolished, citing “high security needs” as the reason.

A photo taken by local resident Bill Tiffin in late October appears to show a concrete structure reduced to rubble at the fenced property along University Avenue.

The image of the site, where construction is underway on the facility, also shows a pair of excavators next to the broken-up material.

“I go by there 10 times a day, so I saw them building the entire complex, including that one tower that I watched them tear down,” Tiffin told Simcoe.com.

The local man said he watched as a “huge machine” was brought to the site in advance of what he said was the structure’s demolition.

“Something with a reach that you would normally use for digging canals and ponds and stuff,” he said. “I thought, ‘I wonder what they’re going to do with that thing’ – well, the next day I saw them using it to tear that tower down.”

Simcoe.com contacted Hydro One to determine if a structure was, indeed, torn down and, if so, for what purpose.

Tiffin’s photo was provided to Hydro One at its request.

A representative for the company later responded to Simcoe.com’s questions in an email statement.

“Due to its high security needs, specific construction details are not available,” said Alex Stewart, media relations and communications. “We expect construction to be completed by late 2021.”

Stewart said the “state of the art facility will be home to highly-skilled employees whose primary function will be to ensure the safe, secure and reliable delivery of power to communities across the province.”

Once the grid-control centre is completed, an existing facility in Barrie will serve as a backup control centre.

Hydro One anticipates moving between 150 and 250 jobs to the Orillia facility. The company’s investment in the local development is said to be approximately $150 million.

City officials, meanwhile, peg the near-term economic impact of the development at about $400 million.