December 23, 2024

Premier Ford threatens to revert land to Greenbelt after 104 acres put up for sale

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Ontario Premier Doug Ford is considering returning two parcels of land into the Greenbelt after the development company that owns the land put it up for sale.

In a statement early Tuesday, the Premier’s Office said it recently learned that the owner of 765 and 775 Kingston Rd. E., in Ajax, Ont., listed the property for sale, despite agreeing to build new homes to address the province’s housing shortage.

“At no point was the intention to sell disclosed to the government’s facilitator during active and ongoing discussions,” Ford said in a statement.

The private listing, obtained by Global News, describes the property as 104 acres of “future development land,” with the sale being billed as an “exclusive offering.”

A private commercial real estate listing for a parcel of land in Ajax that was removed from the Greenbelt by the Ford government. Global News

Prospective buyers are being asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement in order to receive additional information on the land including an environmental report, land surveys, servicing feasibility reports, and a drone marketing video.

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One source said the commercial real estate listing was being “shopped around to other developers” with Sept. 14 set as the deadline for competitive offers.

The potential sale, the government said, runs contrary to the stated goal for the removed Greenbelt lands: building a total of 50,000 homes.

Ford said the government is now exploring every option available “including immediately starting the process to put these sites back into the Greenbelt.”

According to the Auditor General’s special report into the Greenbelt land swap the property, near Kingston Road and the 410, was purchased in June 2018 by Buena Vista Development Corp.

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At the time Ford, who was still leader of the Progressive Conservative party, was facing backlash over a promise to open up a “big chunk” of the Greenbelt for development.

In May 2018, Ford was forced to backtrack and promised that a PC government “won’t touch the Greenbelt.”  One month later, according to the auditor’s report, Buena Vista purchased 104 acres of land from a numbered company.

The two properties were part of a larger 7,400-acre land removal that has left the Ford government mired in controversy and facing a potential police investigation over the process.

The auditor found that select developers were given “preferential treatment” by the Ford government and that “packages” were given to a key government staffer identifying which lands should be targeted.

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While Ford said the government will not reverse the decision to open the Greenbelt, the premier indicated he’s willing to return the lands if developers don’t start construction by 2025.

“To the other property owners, you’re on notice: if you don’t meet our government’s conditions, including showing real progress by year-end with a plan to get shovels in the ground by 2025, your land will go back into the Greenbelt.”

&copy 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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