Land deals pave way for Toyota
A U.S.-based agent representing a buyer for about 400 hectares of land Oxford County is assembling is in negotiations with the municipality, a county official said. Assembling the parcel, believed critical to landing a Toyota assembly plant, is going well and an announcement on the development should be made in four to six weeks, said Oxford Warden Don Woolcott.
"We have been putting the land together and talking to agents of a real estate development company," said Woolcott.
"We are still working on a few pieces, we're in negotiations with a few individuals and discussions are ongoing, but we are very close," he added. "If there was an announcement in four to six weeks, it would not surprise me, but some things still have to come together."
Woolcott declined to identify the agent, or the prospective buyer, but speculation is growing the site will see a $600-million Toyota vehicle assembly plant which will employ 1,500 to 2,000 workers.
"I believe we are supplying what they want and are working consistently toward that. If we can get it, it will be great news," he said of the Toyota plant.
The site in Blandford-Blenheim Township near Woodstock, north of Highway 401 and east of County Road 2, is largely unserviced farmland. Homeowners have been paid a $5,000 deposit for agreeing to sell their land, which they keep if the deal falls through.
One homeowner revealed the county agreed to pay her about $200,000 for her half-hectare parcel of land, which also has a three-bedroom home. Property owners have been told the deal may close this summer, with development slated to begin in the fall.
One of the large parcels still holding out is the 40-hectare golf course Woodstock Meadows. Owner Henry Vink is still negotiating with county officials, he said.
"We're doing well now, we've really hit our stride. We don't want to sell, but when you're dealing with government, there is a chance they will expropriate," said Vink, who has owned the course for 10 years.
"We would have to relocate, start up again. It takes three years to build and have a new golf course grow in. The biggest thing for me is relocating." He's not surprised an announcement may be four to six weeks away.
"They are moving quickly, they want this tied up fast," Vink added.
Tenants in Blandford Square Mall have been largely left out of the speculation, said Shelly Martin, owner of Jinxi Martin's Family Diner.
"There has been a lot of talk, but we are completely in the dark here," said Martin. "We have heard nothing. I don't think the mall is part of it at all."
The county has backed off recently from hard-sell tactics it had been using, said Doug Eakins, owner of Eakins Haulage.
"I haven't heard from them in about two weeks, things have really cooled off," said Eakins, who owns about 0.6 hectares of land beside the golf course.
"They were pushing pretty hard. They say they are willing to pay fair market value, but what is that? You have to consider moving and relocating the business."
Marie Pearson and her husband thought they'd built their dream home on a 1.6-hectare farm on Township Road 2 about seven years ago, but when an agent for the county knocked on her door last month, she agreed to sell.
"We agreed because they would have put us out if we didn't," she said. "It will be very hard to move."
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