drum118
Superstar
Does this mean Sheridan College Luck out for a campus here now?
How tall will they be since there are 2-3 level townhouses condo's on the opposite side of Hurontario now including Burger King. High School and single homes along Bristol at the south end. The Peel District School Board Head office is at the north end.
By: John Stewart
April 10, 2008 10:22 PM - The Peel District School Board will preserve 85 per cent of its sprawling 200-acre Britannia Farm in the heart of Mississauga by brokering a deal to build up to eight high-rise offices along the farm's remaining frontage on Hurontario St.
At a public meeting tonight Board Chair Janet McDougald explained that the board decided in camera at its March 25 meeting to approve a 99-year lease with Osmington Inc. that will allow the firm to apply for a rezoning to the City to build 850,000 sq. ft. (85,000 sq. m.) of office space on 31.67 acres of the farm property.
The development will stretch from the southern limits of the playground at the historic Britannia school house (just opposite Barondale Dr.) south to Bristol Rd. and then wrap around the corner to extend part-way along Bristol.
"We want to preserve this beautiful jewel in the middle of the City but we require long-term stable funding so students can better use it," McDougald said in a media briefing before the meeting. "It's a wonderful facility but it's underused for the value it could be producing for students."
The plan to build offices is just the latest in a long line of proposed projects for the farm, which was granted to the board's predecessor bodies in trust in 1833 by King William IV. It was to be used solely for the benefit of Peel's schoolchildren.
Under the approved deal, which was the culmination of a task force process begun several years ago, Osmington will pay the board a huge sum of money upfront for the entire 99-year lease period.
McDougald, who chaired the task force, said she could not reveal the amount of that payment because the lease has not been finalized. As soon as the figure is known, which should be in June, it will be made public.
The money will be paid within two years, if Osmington wins approval from the municipality for the buildings. Board officials said the use is complimentary to the office corridor concept already approved along Hurontario.
"It all comes down to money, ultimately," McDougald told reporters. "We've tried numerous things for the farm but there's nothing in the (educational) funding formula that really covers it."
Osmington will move the historic Conover barn and the Dunton house and bring them up to Building Code standards at their own expense.
Revenues from the lease could be used for such things as new nature paths on the property, washrooms and shelters for visiting students, interpretive areas for outdoor studies or revival of the maple sugaring shack that was a feature of the farm for many years.
McDougald admitted there is no guarantee that future trustees will use the money exclusively for the farm and outdoor education but said the current board will set guidelines that make it clear that is their intention.
"It's inappropriate to put a very tall building next to our very small schoolhouse," said one member of the Friends of the Old Britannia Schoolhouse said during a question period.
Park Royal resident Janet Seabrook was appalled that, after a lengthy public process, the board had approved the plans without coming back for input from the community about the final shape of the plan. "If you're having a public process, why not invite everyone to come and look at the last two proposals?
The process may have been open for the first three years but for the last one, it hasn't been open at all," she said.
Ninety-two-year-old Ben Madill, who started school at the Britannia School House in 1921 and was instrumental in saving it, told The News that he had mixed feelings about the plans. "You hate to see it done but they've got to do something."
Jim Murray, senior vice-president of DTZ Barnicke, the consultant that assisted with the bidding process said in an interview that the frontage along Hurontario St., "is the best piece of undeveloped property in the Region of Peel. This will be a signature site for quality."
The key part of the deal is that the board retains ownership and will acquire everything on the property eventually, Murray said. "Somebody will look brilliant in 99 years."
http://www.mississauga.com/article/12996
How tall will they be since there are 2-3 level townhouses condo's on the opposite side of Hurontario now including Burger King. High School and single homes along Bristol at the south end. The Peel District School Board Head office is at the north end.
By: John Stewart
April 10, 2008 10:22 PM - The Peel District School Board will preserve 85 per cent of its sprawling 200-acre Britannia Farm in the heart of Mississauga by brokering a deal to build up to eight high-rise offices along the farm's remaining frontage on Hurontario St.
At a public meeting tonight Board Chair Janet McDougald explained that the board decided in camera at its March 25 meeting to approve a 99-year lease with Osmington Inc. that will allow the firm to apply for a rezoning to the City to build 850,000 sq. ft. (85,000 sq. m.) of office space on 31.67 acres of the farm property.
The development will stretch from the southern limits of the playground at the historic Britannia school house (just opposite Barondale Dr.) south to Bristol Rd. and then wrap around the corner to extend part-way along Bristol.
"We want to preserve this beautiful jewel in the middle of the City but we require long-term stable funding so students can better use it," McDougald said in a media briefing before the meeting. "It's a wonderful facility but it's underused for the value it could be producing for students."
The plan to build offices is just the latest in a long line of proposed projects for the farm, which was granted to the board's predecessor bodies in trust in 1833 by King William IV. It was to be used solely for the benefit of Peel's schoolchildren.
Under the approved deal, which was the culmination of a task force process begun several years ago, Osmington will pay the board a huge sum of money upfront for the entire 99-year lease period.
McDougald, who chaired the task force, said she could not reveal the amount of that payment because the lease has not been finalized. As soon as the figure is known, which should be in June, it will be made public.
The money will be paid within two years, if Osmington wins approval from the municipality for the buildings. Board officials said the use is complimentary to the office corridor concept already approved along Hurontario.
"It all comes down to money, ultimately," McDougald told reporters. "We've tried numerous things for the farm but there's nothing in the (educational) funding formula that really covers it."
Osmington will move the historic Conover barn and the Dunton house and bring them up to Building Code standards at their own expense.
Revenues from the lease could be used for such things as new nature paths on the property, washrooms and shelters for visiting students, interpretive areas for outdoor studies or revival of the maple sugaring shack that was a feature of the farm for many years.
McDougald admitted there is no guarantee that future trustees will use the money exclusively for the farm and outdoor education but said the current board will set guidelines that make it clear that is their intention.
"It's inappropriate to put a very tall building next to our very small schoolhouse," said one member of the Friends of the Old Britannia Schoolhouse said during a question period.
Park Royal resident Janet Seabrook was appalled that, after a lengthy public process, the board had approved the plans without coming back for input from the community about the final shape of the plan. "If you're having a public process, why not invite everyone to come and look at the last two proposals?
The process may have been open for the first three years but for the last one, it hasn't been open at all," she said.
Ninety-two-year-old Ben Madill, who started school at the Britannia School House in 1921 and was instrumental in saving it, told The News that he had mixed feelings about the plans. "You hate to see it done but they've got to do something."
Jim Murray, senior vice-president of DTZ Barnicke, the consultant that assisted with the bidding process said in an interview that the frontage along Hurontario St., "is the best piece of undeveloped property in the Region of Peel. This will be a signature site for quality."
The key part of the deal is that the board retains ownership and will acquire everything on the property eventually, Murray said. "Somebody will look brilliant in 99 years."
http://www.mississauga.com/article/12996
