BRUCEDALE – Though the development has been on hold for several years, plans for a new grocery store in Rockwood may still be in the works.
“We’re continuing to proceed with the project, slowly but surely,” Robert Eilers, president of Vesterra Property Management, told the Advertiser.
The issue of the stalled development on Alma Street (Highway 7) in Rockwood came up at the Aug. 12 Guelph/Eramosa council meeting when council was asked to declare its intention to sell an unopened road allowance to the owner of 250 Alma St.
According to a clerk’s department report to council, the township received an application from the property owner to purchase the adjacent Pasmore Street road allowance in 2017.
Council subsequently passed a resolution declaring the land surplus and held a public meeting to start the process of closing the road allowance.
“However, the bylaw necessary to finalize this process was never approved and the unopened road allowance never sold,” the report states.
The applicant has since approached the township about resuming the process.
“I’m happy to see this. It shows … that project’s moving ahead” said Mayor Chris White.
“This is one important piece in that puzzle.”
Though the clerk’s report references an Ontario numbered company, when reached via phone by the Advertiser, Eilers confirmed Vesterra is the owner of 250 Alma St.
He said the Rockwood development has been on hold while he was busy with the Canadian Mental Health Association development on Woolwich Street in Guelph – a project for which he donated the funding.
While Eilers said his plan has always been to put a grocery store on the Alma Street property, he could not yet confirm whether that would happen, saying there are other steps to take before tenants can be finalized.
Because the property is on Highway 7, the development requires approval from the Ministry of Transportation (MTO), Eilers explained, saying he doesn’t expect to know whether the MTO will approve his latest submission for the better part of a year.
Acquisition of the Pasmore Street road allowance, which would likely become an entrance to the development, is one more thing that needs to be figured out in order to get MTO approval, he added.
