ELORA – A large distribution warehouse is proposed to be built in south Elora pending a future site plan approval.
Aosom Canada Inc. plans to build a 575,000 sq. ft. distribution warehouse at 32 First Line in Elora, just east of Wellington Road 7 before you enter town.
The company is a Chinese-headquartered e-commerce business similar to Amazon that imports goods from Asia.
Arthur Tse, Aosom Canada Inc. general manager, said in a phone interview this would be the company’s third warehouse in the province, with the other two in Scarborough and Oshawa.
“The price (of land) in Elora is not that high and also we like to have one in a rural area to lower our operation costs,” Tse said, explaining why Elora was chosen as a site.
A notice sent to neighbouring properties by contractor Maple Reinders indicated the proposed facility will have 56 loading docks and 111 employee parking spaces.
Tse said it is hard to confirm exactly how many new jobs the warehouse will bring to the region as it will make use of automation but estimated between 40 to 50.
Colin Baker, Centre Wellington’s managing director of infrastructure services, said there is no rezoning required which means there is no public consultation process.
However, Baker said the township did ask for them to consult with neighbours and last week had an online open house.
The warehouse will need to go through the site plan control process with the township, Baker said, which will include a traffic impact study.
“It would look at additional trucks or any improvements to intersections, whether it’s turning lanes, how long the turning lanes would be and whether signals are required,” Baker said.
The notice states the contractor is working on preparing the site to start construction of the foundation and area grading expected to be completed in March 2022.
Tse said the overall goal is to have the warehouse completed in February 2023.
