Welland High land sold
Welmet property on King Street also sold
The former Welland High property has been sold — again.
Dan Degazio, the city’s director of economic development, said he was told a group of investors have purchased the land at the corner of West Main and Denistoun streets and bounded to the north by the Welland River.
Degazio said he doesn’t have much more information, other than that the investors had hired consultants to deal with the property, which had been advertised as 7.15 acres of residential development land.
It’s not the first time the property, home to the former Welland High and Vocational School, has been up for sale.
In 2009, it was owned by Mississauga-based developer Napev Construction Ltd., which had applied for zoning changes to permit up to 218 residential properties on the site, including semidetached buildings, townhouses and mid-rise apartment buildings not more than seven storeys tall. There was also a request for zoning approval for some commercial and recreational uses within the development.
That proposal never moved forward, and in 2011 the school went up in flames after it was set on fire. At the time, 15 homes in the area had to be evacuated due to thick smoke coming from the building. Five people were later arrested and charged with arson.
The property went back on the market in 2012, and the plan at the time was to attract interest based on the property’s zoning, which allowed for semi-detached homes, townhouses and apartment buildings. It was listed for sale through Toronto-based real estate company Avison Young.
It was most recently listed under sales representative Greg Chew at Colliers International. The Tribune was unable to reach Chew on Wednesday to talk about the sale.
While Degazio is waiting for more information on the Welland High property, he said the former Welmet lands, on King Street near Lincoln Street, had been sold.
“I talked with the owner last week and he’s doing his due diligence on the property.”
Degazio said there’s environmental monitoring going on at the site, and once that’s done it will be cleaned up.
He said the owner is proposing a mix of residential and commercial uses.
The property has sat vacant for years.
In 2009, Toronto-based Terrasan Environmental Corp. took ownership and had plans for apartment buildings, townhouses, as well as about 3,000 square metres of commercial space. Those plans fell through when the company declared bankruptcy in 2011.