Guelph-Eramosa council is selling the closed portion of Division Street in Rockwood.
“This portion of the … former road allowance runs from 250 Alma Street to Inkerman (Street) within Rockwood,” township clerk Meaghen Reid said at the Nov. 7 council meeting.
“This viable portion of property (is) for sale to the adjacent property owners as it can be assembled with those adjacent lands to increase the value of development or redevelopment of the whole property.”
If the former road allowance were sold on its own it wouldn’t be large enough to be considered a buildable lot or eligible for a building permit. Reid explained that in the past, unless the lot is buildable, the township has offered the sale of road or home allowances only to adjacent property owners.
“It’s not a road anymore, it hasn’t been,” Mayor Chris White said.
“So the question becomes what’s the greatest value to the township and the community in terms of disposing of this asset and based on what we know it’s to merge with the existing commercial lots.
“This makes a new grocery store, let’s just cut to the chase, viable in terms of land size.”
Vesterra Property Management Inc. owns much of the land south of the closed portion of Division Street.
Earlier this fall president and director of the company Robert Eilers said he was hoping to include a grocery store in the development of those lots.
Vesterra Property Management Inc. is waiting for Ministry of Transportation approval before it can proceed any further with development.
White explained that if the road allowance were sold in bits and pieces the value would drop because there would no longer be the potential for commercial development.
“It basically would sit,” White said.
“So if we have an opportunity to merge it into this commercial revitalization we’re trying to get through here, with all the jobs and all the good things that come from it, selling that to the adjacent property owner, who came to us first … it would be a good financial benefit to the township, good use of this property and good community commercial redevelopment.”
He continued to say the township should be supporting development.
The township was directed to tell property owners adjacent to the former Division Street road allowance of its intent to sell the land. Council will consider any offers for purchase.
“Everything is going to have a value but we have to decide what we want to sell it for,” councillor Corey Woods said. “If somebody comes in and says ‘we want this little piece,’ we don’t have to sell it to them.”
Reid said council might be able to make a decision on the sale in December.
