in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, D ec em be r 23 ,2 02 1 | 2 At Village Orthodontics in Oakville, we specialize in beautiful smiles using clear aligners and traditional braces. New Patients Welcome Schedule your complimentary consultation today! 647-496-1424 2-2983 Westoak Trails Blvd. Oakville villageortho.ca Book your Personalized Smile Consultation today A one-time connection fee will apply to each new line or device activation/upgrade. * Speeds reduced beyond Fast LTE data amounts. For Digital Discount program details and how to redeem your $5 monthly discount, visit freedommobile.ca/digitaldiscount.All Freedom Mobile services are subject to our Terms of Service, Internet Tra c Management Policy, Fair Usage Policy, and Privacy Policy located at freedommobile.ca.The Freedom Mobile name and logos and other words, titles, phrases,marks, logos, icons, graphics are trademarks of, or used under license by, Freedom Mobile Inc.All rights reserved. Oakville Smart Centre 261 Oak Walk Drive Oakville 289.291.3261 Walkers Line 3505 Upper Middle Road Burlington 289.427.5260 Appleby Village 5111 New Street Burlington 905.635.0584 WITH DIGITAL DISCOUNT SLEIGH OVERPRICED DATA. out a lot of things about myself and all that stuff. My parents def- initely need me around." O'Riordan says many of his friends are still living at home as well, and definitely sees Oakville as an expensive town in which to live. "If you're alone and if you're a single person, that (home owner- ship) might be a problem." Part of the reason why many first-time buyers are struggling to find their a home is a lack of supply -- both in Oakville and across the province. Re/Max's own housing out- look states: "Low inventory is ex- pected to be a major concern that will continue to have a direct im- pact on home availability and prices next year." When told about Oakville's in- tensification projects, O'Riordan said he would at least be curious to check them out. The Town of Oakville is in- vesting in a number of intensifi- cation projects -- including around the Bronte and Oakville GO stations and Palermo Village -- that could transform those ar- eas into more dense, transit-ori- ented neighbourhoods. The Bronte GO projects, or the Major Transit Station Area (MTSA), will see the creation of several mid to high-density homes, office spaces, green spac- es and active transportation fa- cilities. The Oakville GO proposed de- velopment, also called the Mid- town Oakville Growth Area Re- view, is an area the province has identified for growth. The Growth Plan, also known as the Places to Grow Act, pushes mu- nicipalities to plan for large growth over the coming decades. Similar to the Midtown devel- opment, Palermo Village, at the intersection of Bronte Road and Dundas Street, will also be un- dergoing sweeping transit-ori- ented intensification. When Mark Taylor, director of accounts of Places4Students heard about the intensification of Oakville, he called it a "great idea." Places4Students partners with over 190 campuses, includ- ing Sheridan College's Trafalgar campus, to help students find housing. Taylor has noticed a sea change in available housing with the arrival of COVID-19. "The summer of 2020, we saw a lot of panicked landlords not fill- ing their properties and students were going to be studying from home," Taylor said. "Places that were typically student rentals -- the ones that could be converted for single family use -- a lot of them ended up being rented out to single families. "Another trend that we saw was a really hot real estate mar- ket. And so prices went up. Peo- ple who were maybe landlords but were nearing retirement age decided, 'you know what? We're just going to take advantage of a hot real estate market and sell the property.' " Taylor continued: "And then the new owners may or may not purchase it for the same use go- ing forward. So we saw what hap- pened was that the first year caused there to be a reduction in the amount of student housing available." Taylor called it a "perfect storm." A report by Scotiabank states that Canada has the lowest num- ber of housing units per 1,000 peo- ple of any G7 country. "An extra 100,000 dwellings would have been required to keep the ratio of housing units to pop- ulation stable since 2016 -- leav- ing us still well below the G7 aver- age," reads the report. Said Smart Density firm plan- ner Naama Blonder: "Having just low rise residential [homes] next to high order transit is not prob- ably the definition of smart growth." Smart growth is a set of princi- ples that emphasize dense, tran- sit-oriented, walkable urbaniza- tion with mixed uses. Blonder says that the Oakville developments in the works are "perfect examples" of smart growth because they can "really have the potential to provide good urban design with 15-min- ute neighbourhoods and sustain- ability." A 15-minute neighbourhood -- simply put -- is one that is de- signed in a way so that a resident is always 15 minutes away from any amenity. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: With the ongoing hous- ing crisis impacting most com- munities, including Oakville, we wanted to explore the effect local densification efforts could have on the housing supply. NEWS Continued from page 1 OAKVILLE IDEAL PLACE FOR INTENSIFICATION: PLANNER Markus O'Riordan doesn't foresee owning his own home anytime soon. Mansoor Tanweer/Metroland