Hwy 400 expansion through Barrie forces Dunlop Street West Plaza owners to move out

Dunlop plaza uncertainty Siobhan Morris reports on what some business owners plan to do after vacating the Dunlop plaza in Barrie.

Barrie, Ont. — As part of the Highway 400 expansion through Barrie, several Dunlop Street West Plaza businesses have been forced out effective immediately.

Parts of the plaza at 304 Dunlop Street West will be demolished to accommodate the ten-lane highway expansion that includes new on and off-ramps. In 2019, several plaza businesses were made aware of the design plan where the ramps would take up some of the space in the plaza.

The MTO did not give a deadline for vacating the premises until last week, when the business owners were told they needed to exit the premises as of noon Monday.

For the owners of The Mexican House who had been hoping for one more extension, the last-minute announcement has left them scrambling. Yanitza Botello, The Mexican House Manager, said their new location is two to three months away from being ready due to Covid related construction delays, leaving them with no other place to go.

Shari Elliott, Elliott & Elliott Barristers & Solicitors said "From June, until two weeks ago, the landlord and MTO were still negotiating whether they would put off when they would take over the land and the leases would be able to continue. And that negotiation broke down only one week ago."

The MTO said it doesn't expect to call for tenders on the project until at least 2024, but pre-demolition work needs to begin.