On April 13, 2023, Avenue 31, with the help of the Township of South Stormont and SDG Counties, held a public open house at the Community Hall from 6-8pm. The purpose of the open house was to invite the public to ask questions and give feedback on the development of the proposed Long Sault Logistics Village.
The 677-acre site in question, owned by TPM Holdings Inc. / Avenue 31 Capital, is bordered by Highway 401 (north), a CN Rail Mainline (south), County Road 35 (west), and County Road 15 (east).
The plan is to create an industrial subdivision consisting of 17 industrial building lots. Access to the proposed building lots will be provided by a 2.75 km, County-owned “spine road” running east-west through the site connecting to County Road 15 (Avonmore Road) and County Road 35 (Moulinette Road).
Professionals involved in various aspects of the project were on hand at the information session to take questions, including planners, environmentalists, traffic consultants, and representatives from Avenue 31.
“I came on at the beginning of this to get a feel for: Where is the better habitat? Anything sensitive? And try to help with the planning of the blocks of what would be developed in a way that could still protect some natural heritage,” explained Michelle Lavictoire, senior biologist at CIMA+.
As part of the project, a large woodland and wetland area will be protected – and some restoration may also take place in the process.
The property owner has submitted their subdevelopment application for the property, which was already zoned for heavy industrial use. The township is now reviewing expert technical studies and taking feedback from the public before deciding to approve, deny, or request changes to the application by June.
So far, there has been a lot of positive feedback on the development plan, which would create a lot of jobs for the area and expand the local taxbase.
“Local concerns would be the noise and the railyard and what is in the railcars. A lot of people speak to [Lac-Mégantic] and what happened there and concerns for safety,” said Gavin MacDonald, Vice President of Development at Avenue 31.
With such a large industrial development potentially coming to South Stormont, another question on people’s minds is: could all this development in South Stormont create a housing issue like we are experiencing in Cornwall?
“Long Sault is probably the fastest growing community in SDG. We’re seeing more and more subdivision development and growth,” said Peter Young, Director of Planning Services for SDG Counties, adding that a 120-unit subdivision was recently approved for the area.
“The other thing we’re looking at is having more different types of uses so apartments or townhomes, not just single family, to have a place for anyone.”
For an extensive Q&A on the development, including answers to community questions, visit https://www.caminolvs.com/library.
