Seaway giving up acres of land
Niagara lands totalling 4,000 acres are in the process of being divested by the federal government — including most properties expropriated in the 1960s for a fifth, never-built Welland Canal.
The bundle includes 72 properties in the region that were declared surplus by the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation after a review of its land holdings in 2013.
The properties are generally located along the Welland Canal and are in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, Port Colborne, Thorold and Welland, said Transport Canada spokeswoman Julie Leroux in an email.
“The properties range in size from 0.20 acres in Port Colborne to the largest property — the Townline Tunnel in Welland — at around 404 acres,” she said.
The exact acreage will be determined through detailed survey work that’s currently underway and will continue into 2018.
Transport Canada is working with Canada Lands Company with the goal of selling the portfolio of surplus seaway lands in the next two to five years.
About half of the acreage was expropriated 50 years ago for Welland Canal expansion plans which have since been shelved. That land — occupied by tenants — is being handled differently than the other surplus properties which the federal government acquired at various points in time.
The seaway expropriated about 1,900 acres of land for the canal in 1966. Transport Canada said approximately 90 to 95 per cent of it is now considered surplus to operational needs.
It includes 25 properties in Niagara-on-the-Lake that are leased by 25 tenants, including the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake and the Region of Niagara.
Transport Canada said all tenants have been notified of its intention to sell the properties. It will proceed with directed sales at fair market value to those 25 existing tenants.
“This approach recognizes the significant investments made by the long-term tenants, avoids adverse local economic impacts from changes in land use and ensures value for taxpayers,” Transport Canada wrote in an information letter to the City of St. Catharines in council’s package in July.
The properties include St. George’s Anglican Church on Queenston Road which has been leasing 163 Queenston Road since it was expropriated in 1966.
At the time, the small congregation didn’t want to move again — in 1959 its church down the street was expropriated for the Garden City Skyway.
Bill Mous, communications coordinator for the Anglican Diocese of Niagara, said the seaway was in touch a number of months ago to see whether there might be interest in the property. The church’s current lease is up in March 2018.
The parish was deciding its own future at the time and at a special vestry meeting in June decided to close doors at the end of the year due to its small congregation.
Mous said the church is on an isolated piece of property with no neighbourhood around it and thought investing in bricks and mortar wasn’t the best idea.
“It was a thorough and thoughtful process, a proactive process they undertook, so they were well positioned to respond to the Seaway at that time,” Mous said. “So the land will be returned to the seaway at the and of the lease agreement.”’
Jeff Vyse, manager of public works in Niagara-on-the-Lake, said most of the seaway’s other surplus property in the town is leased out to farmers.
The town itself owned some unopened road allowances that were expropriated and it will get back. However, there are no plans to put new roads on unopened road allowances.
“Right now the existing road allowances are going through farms and it makes no sense to put a roadway through a farm,” Vyse said.
Transport Canada said it expects leased parcels in Niagara-on-the-Lake will be sold or transferred over the next three years.
The rest of the surplus lands have to be surveyed and appraised before they can be sold to Canada Lands Company. The company is a federal Crown corporation that disposes of properties on behalf of the federal government.
Transport Canada said 60 per cent of the surveying, appraising and due diligence work has been completed to date and will continue over the next year and a half.
Any interest from local municipalities or the Niagara Region about the properties will be considered as the sale process moves forward with Canada Lands Company.
Requests for Interest will be formally sought over the next year.
Transport Canada spokesman John Cottreau said in an email the majority of the surplus properties are encumbered by leases and licences but there are some vacant properties.
That’s sure to pique the interest of some municipalities.
Welland CAO Gary Long said the city has had a couple of constructive meetings with Transport Canada about the process that’s underway.
“We wanted to obtain more information but also to express our interest in being part of the process and certainly being aware of the lands that would be made available,” he said.
Long wouldn’t discuss which parcels are in discussion but said there are various lands adjacent to the seaway, some with and some without access to services.
He said it’s important for Welland to look ahead to ensure it has an adequate supply of land available for future growth in the next five to 25 years.