The sale of the former Holmes Foundry site in Point Edward closed Thursday and the buyer is a Hamilton-based developer with ties to the Sarnia area.
South Coast Developments Limited purchased the 6.5-hectares of land next to Highway 402, where it approaches the Blue Water Bridge, from Point Edward Gateway Inc., for $5.75 million.
“We’re all doing the happy dance,” said Point Edward Mayor Bev Hand. “And we deserve it. It has been a long, frustrating journey.”
The sale of the former industrial site with a troubled history followed a year of work by the parties, including the village.
Chrysler closed the former foundry in the 1980s and the property was sold, but it has sat vacant since then. A long legal battle over the property’s ownership was only settled in late 2017 and land was put on the market again.
The village said in a news release an agreement with the buyer and seller calls for a phase two environmental assessment and a record of site condition to be completed, as well as environmental remediation work to allow for future development on the land.
Under the agreement, the seller will pay for the environmental work that is being arranged by the village, said Jim Burns, Point Edward’s chief administrative officer.
Recently, the village oversaw demolition of the remaining buildings at the site and the clearing of trees and other vegetation.
“The new buyer, they have a lot of great ideas,” Hand said. “They have big hopes for the property because it’s unique – the size and the proximity to the river and the highway.”
Tyler Pearson, president of South Coast Developments Limited, grew up in St. Clair Township and began considering buying the former foundry site after driving by it on an Easter weekend visit home in 2021.
“I immediately pulled my car over to the side of the road and just stared at it and said, ‘Somebody has got to finally do something with this site because it’s crazy that 16 acres of prime development land has sat idle for so long,’ ” Pearson said.
“We’re very excited about the possibilities that obviously come with that site.”
Pearson said they have carried out housing, seniors and hotel studies on the land “and all outcomes from those studies have been extremely favourable.”
He said it is “early days” in the company’s plans but “for sure, we see a meaningful residential element making up one of many puzzle pieces” for the site.
“There is no doubt in our eyes it is truly one of the best remaining large development sites, not just in Point Edward, but I would go as far as to say in southwestern Ontario,” Pearson said.
He added village officials have been “wonderful to work with, right from the beginning.”
The site is “steps away” from Lake Huron and the St. Clair River, and “just provides tremendous opportunity,” he said.
Pearson said the company is “extremely bullish that all of the environmental issues can be navigated and we will get the site shovel-ready for residential development.”
He said the impact of the pandemic may have “only helped the site” because of the recent trend of residents of larger centers moving to smaller communities.
“A lot of people started to realize the quality of lifestyle and affordability a place like Point Edward and Sarnia-Lambton could provide.”
Pearson said there’s “still a lot of heavy lifting left to do but we remain incredibly optimistic and are going to continue to push forward.”