The president of the Sarnia-Lambton Real Estate Board is excited to hear a Toronto-area company is interested in buying the former Sarnia Collegiate Institute and Technical School (SCITS) property for residential development.
Rob Longo describes the Wellington Street site as a "keystone" property for Mitton Village.
"Because of the size and location of that site, I think it would be a great location for some smaller, or more affordable housing, definitely," said Longo. "Obviously, close proximity to walking and shopping is important in those aspects because it's very hard to find sites of that size in the central part of the city. So, it could be a very good opportunity to do some infill."
Longo said as housing prices continue to climb it's getting harder on both the buying and leasing side to provide affordable housing options.
"There's a good opportunity to see a combination of different uses there. Not necessarily one specific use. So, there could be a combination of intensification and styles of housing. You could see some multi-residential, some single family, some rental, some ownership."
The city met with a developer several months ago, and General Manager of Community Services Stacey Forfar said she's 'looking forward to working with hopefully a good community partner to see that site moved ahead."
"At this time the SCITS property is designated and zoned for institutional use," said Forfar. "So, any proposed changes from that use to residential, or other types of compatible community uses, will require, more than likely, an official plan and zoning amendment. So, there will be full public consultation, or at least we expect there will be public consultation, depending on what the new property owner brings forward."
Forfar agreed that the SCITS site is an anchor to the Mitton Village area.
"Council adopted a modernized community plan last year and a big part of the focus was on that area. Hopefully, any future plans coming in will be a great addition. It would be wonderful to see that site reinvested in, help spur interest in the area and help gentrify that neighbourhood."
The Lambton Kent District School Board reached a deal for the sale in April but has yet to identify the prospective purchaser.
It was expected the buyer would be identified in mid-June following completion of an environmental assessment.
The school board declared the nearly century-old building at 275 Wellington Street surplus in August of 2019 after it had been closed in June of that year. It was listed for sale on the open market in February of this year and reportedly attracted multiple offers.
