CORNWALL, Ontario – In a letter sent to City Council dated June 22, Loblaws announced its intention to not build a new distribution centre in Cornwall.
Instead of building a new site, Loblaws has bought Shoppers Drug Mart and its Cornwall distribution centre.
In light of these revelations, Cornwall City Council passed By-Law #2016-132 to buy back the land on which the new distribution centre would have been built for $2, 182, 014.
The City is buying the land back after it chose to enact Section 4(c)(i) of its purchase agreement under which The City is permitted to buy the land back at 90 percent of the purchasing price.
General Manager of Planning, Development and Recreation Mark Boileau said that buying back the land is in the interest of encouraging growth.
“We want to see development,” he said. “We want to service that property and make it shovel ready to attract businesses and jobs.”
The money to buy back the land will come from the City’s reserve and be replaced. CAO Maureen Adams has said that in recent year’s the City has been able to save about $500, 000 per year for the reserve.
The property is located at the corner of Industrial Park Road and Tenth Street East. The property is 121 acres and was sold at $20, 000 per acre.
