Toronto Star

Picton landmark like ‘stepping back in time’

Second World War base in Prince Edward County is selling for nearly $15M

- IRELYNE LAVERY STAFF REPORTER

Tucked away in Picton, Prince Edward County’s largest community more than two hours east of Toronto, sits nearly 700 acres of history — history that can be bought for the price of nearly $15 million.

The property, at 343 County Road 22, is formerly known as Camp Picton, a Second World War airbase. The base was one of 151 British Commonweal­th Air Training Plan (BCATP) schools establishe­d across Canada between 1940 and 1945.

Now the property owner, a company called Loch-Sloy Holdings Ltd., is selling the place — which still houses original barracks, the old camp dentist building, a rappelling tower and the drill hall. The Picton Airport (and its original hangar) is also located on the property.

The real estate listing offers the lot as a “once in a lifetime opportunit­y” to create a master plan for “multiple residentia­l lifestyle communitie­s,” noting the airport is operationa­l with three runways.

Loch-Sloy Holdings Limited declined to speak with the Star about the property up for sale, citing a confidenti­ality agreement currently in place. The property’s salesperso­n Raymond Habets also declined to comment.

“When you wander around amidst those buildings, it’s evocative of this particular snapshot in time. It’s almost haunting,” said local councillor Kate MacNaughto­n.

“It really is a special and unusual spot that transports you to that time and place.”

The BCATP base is the last of its kind in Ontario, according to Joanne Fralick, author of “Camp Picton: A Storied 70 Years in a Canadian Military Training Camp.”

She and her husband, Martin Fralick, who co-authored the book, currently reside in a former PMQ (Permanent Married Quarters), built at Camp Picton in 1950 for troops and their families, which is not part of the property for sale.

Even the street names have significan­ce in the Fralicks’ neighbourh­ood, each named after different battle terms — Diver Belt (after a warning call given when a buzz bomber was coming), Vimy Street (after the Battle of Vimy Ridge), and the smallest street called Fish Creek Lane (after an 1885 battle).

While Joanne said it’s great living in a piece of history, she’s also seen parts of the base fall apart, including roofs caving in.

Despite the rich history, none of the buildings have heritage designatio­n, according to Joanne.

The county’s record of designatio­n and designated property index also do not list any of the Camp Picton buildings.

The municipali­ty did not respond to the Star’s requests concerning heritage designatio­ns by the time of publicatio­n.

In 1940, when the camp opened, pilots came from the U.K., U.S., New Zealand and Australia to go through a short but intensive course, according to Peter Lockyer of History Lives Here Inc., a local Prince Edward County heritage group.

Six pilots died during training and were buried at Glenwood Cemetery, he said. The historic cemetery is located in the community down the road from the camp. Unlike the camp, the cemetery is listed on Prince Edward County’s record of designatio­n and its designated property index.

Around 800 troops would come in for the course at the base at a time. They would travel by ship to Halifax and then take a train to Picton station where a truck would pick them up to take them to the camp. Each group of troops had a difficult time dealing with the colder months during training, according to Joanne.

“They were amazed at what a Canadian winter was like with all the snow and the cold,” she said. “They thought they were in hell.”

By 1948, the base had become a gunnery school. The troops were older than those who trained at the camp when it was an airbase, according to Fralick. Because many were married and starting families, the PMQ village was built. A school and a Catholic and Protestant church were also put in. Like the PMQ village, the land the school and churches are on are not part of the property for sale.

Then, the base closed by the late 1960s.

“It was a devastatin­g blow to the local economy as our principal industry, the canning of fruits and vegetables, was also in its final days,” Lockyer said. “I can remember my dad, who served on the local council, wondering how we would ever recover from these two economic blows.”

In 1969, the property was sold to the former mayor of Picton, H.J. McFarland. McFarland was of Scottish descent and renamed it Loch-Sloy. One year later, Prince Edward Heights, a facility for individual­s with developmen­tal disabiliti­es, opened and ran for nearly three decades until 1999, using part of the base.

Since then, the base has also been used for television and movie sets including season one of Canada’s Worst Driver. Props and sets for the Canadian Opera Company have also been stored there.

The Loch-Sloy Business Park is also on the lot, which houses an art gallery, yoga studio, auto and boat repairs, carpentry, and an escape room called “Escape Camp Picton.”

“It’s a perfect location because it feels like you’re stepping back in time,” Joanne said.

“It looks just like you’re going back into World War II,” her husband, Martin added.

A new buyer has virtually limitless options to develop the property, according to JohnRoss Parks, team lead and sales representa­tive with the Parks Group at Royal LePage ProAllianc­e, located in the area.

“You’ve got a mixture of potential combined with a ridiculous amount of land,” he said, noting the airport may also be appealing to prospectiv­e buyers.

The former airbase is a “landmark property,” in the region, according to Parks.

“Whoever is lucky enough to purchase the property, they’re going to have something really special on their hands,” he said.

“We’re all hoping for someone who has a little bit of creativity and obviously the resources to put together such a large-scale redevelopm­ent project.”

If she could wave a magic wand, councillor MacNaughto­n would want to see the federal government purchase the property to preserve its history.

With the lot being so large, she said there’s room for housing developmen­ts while still respecting the Camp Picton war heritage.

“If it was picked up by the government, it would offer opportunit­ies to develop housing in the area, which of course is so badly needed in every municipali­ty but particular­ly in Prince Edward County as one of the outliers in our shared provincial housing crisis,” she said.

The Fralicks hope the new owners will create a museum on the property to save Camp Picton’s history.

“They need a museum that’s accessible to the public, where we can see the artifacts and learn and preserve the history,” Joanne said.

The base has also been used for television and movie sets, including Season One of ‘Canada’s Worst Driver’

 ?? JOANNE FRALICK ?? The Permanent Married Quarters village at Camp Picton in 1952. “When you wander around amidst those buildings, it’s evocative of this particular snapshot in time,” said local councillor Kate MacNaughto­n.“It really is a special and unusual spot that transports you to that time and place.”
JOANNE FRALICK The Permanent Married Quarters village at Camp Picton in 1952. “When you wander around amidst those buildings, it’s evocative of this particular snapshot in time,” said local councillor Kate MacNaughto­n.“It really is a special and unusual spot that transports you to that time and place.”

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Canada