No progress on Edwardsburgh Land Bank sale

JOHNSTOWN – Negotiations remain ongoing for the purchase of approximately 10,000 acres of land that comprises the Edwardsburgh Land Bank near Johnstown.nnThe large parcel of land is currently managed by Infrastructure Ontario.nnEdwardsburgh-Cardinal Township is attempting to purchase the land for future development. E-C recently completed the purchase of land for the formerly proposed ED19 mega landfill from the United Counties of Leeds-Grenville.nnIan McConachie, manager of media relations and communications for IO said that government agency has a well-defined disposition process for land sales. Included in that process are “due diligence activities” that include environmental, archaeological, and cultural heritage assessments.nn“Currently the Edwardsburgh Land Bank remains firmly in the due diligence phase of IO’s sales process,” he said. “Given that real estate due diligence activities and various approvals can be subject to change, we do not publicly share time lines or provide fulsome updates until this work has been completed.”nnE-C Mayor Tory Deschamps said his township is set on its goal of acquiring the land.nn“As a council, it’s a mandate and term goal to acquire the Edwardsburgh Land Bank and get it back into productive use,” he told The Leader. “It has immense potential for development – industrial, residential, and agricultural – as well as some very significant conservation areas. As a council we will work towards the purchase of the lands, but I cannot comment on the negotiations or the process as we are bound by a Non-Disclosure Agreement.”nnThe Edwardsburgh Land Bank was assembled by the provincial government in the late 1950s and early 1960s for industrial development during the time around the St. Lawrence Seaway project construction. While industrial land in recent years around Johnstown has been developed, no development has occurred within the provincial lands of the land bank.