Developer shows off and 'Open for Business'
12/12/2003
Owns 500 acres along Oak Park Road, at Highway 403
BY MICHAEL-ALLLAN MARION
EXPOSITOR STAFF / BRANTFORD
A developer claims his new 500-acre private business park on Oak Park Road could open a new phase of economic development in the city and Brant County, and take the heat off the need for land in boundary negotiations.
"The city has done an excellent job of marketing Brantford to industry, and I think both the city and the county are at a point that they want a higher level of input from business," said Steve Charest, president of King and Benton.
Charest led a tour Wednesday around the industrial developer's vast land holdings on both sides of Oak Park Road, north of Highway 403.
The property King and Benton has acquired on the west and east sides of the highway is about 500 acres of mostly mined-out quarry land once worked by such firms as Nelson Aggregates.
The bulk of it called Oak Park North is in the city, and a northern portion is in the country.
FORMER GRAVEL PITS
As seen on the tour, the land is still pock-marked with the evidence of past extractions, as King and Benton goes about the task of filling in major pits to satisfy legal requirements of old quarry licenses.
A section has already been set aside for a proposed $80-miliion ethanol plant pushed by Brant County farmer led Integrated Grain Processors Co-operative.
King and Benton has just appointed J.J. Barnicke Whitney Ltd. - a leading North American industrial and commercial realtor - to market the rest as an industrial, agri-food, bio-tech park on three kilometers of land along the Highway 403 corridor.
City planning staff is examining the proposal before it goes to council. A public meeting is expected to be announced soon.
"We're putting it out to the public and we are letting the world know this area is open for business," said Charest.
"We believe we can fill it all. The city's economic development department has done a great job of attracting companies to the area. I think that is a direct testament to the activity level in the business community that surrounds Brantford and the county."
TO INVEST $16 MILION
The company's five-year business plan is projecting a $10-million investment, including "soft servicing" well and septic systems, on the east side, and a $6.2-million investment on the west side.
If its plan of subdivision clears municipal hurdles, about 350 acres would be brought on stream to support 3.5-million square feet of building space.
The business plan expects $15 million per year in tax assessment when the park is completely full.
The company and the marketer are targeting newer technology interests, including those specializing in agri-business business products.
Charest said the park's location has the ideal features of proximity to a 403 ramp and a CN Rail line from which spur lines can be built.
King and Benton also has announced a proposal for an industrial park on Rest Acres Road in Brant County, where it plans to spend $5.25 million to develop about 150 of the parcel's total 170 acres.
A public meeting will also be held for mat proposal.
Charest said that his company's development plans could take the heat off the city's need to acquire more development land in strategic grown and boundary negotiations.
Talks broke down in the summer over whether lands in the airport area - currently in the county - should be included in a list of proposed parcels for annexations and swaps.
The city negotiating team, with former mayor Chris Friel at the lead, insisted Brantford had less than three years of land left in its inventory for its 20-year needs projection, so it requires more space. Friel insisted all the parcels had to be decided at the same time or there could be no deal.
LAND NEGOTIATIONS
The county said it wasn't ready to discuss the airport lands until water and economic feasibility studies were completed.
One complaint the county kept mentioning in the discussions was the city's practice of including only municipally-owned lands in its business parks or scattered areas along the current boundary.
County negotiators argued privately-held undeveloped industrial properties and 88 acres of Brownfield’s should have been included in the city's inventory to give a clearer picture of its needs.
Mayor Mike Hancock, still convinced of the need for urgent land talks, has secured an agreement from Brant Mayor Ron Eddy to open preliminary discussions in January.
Charest suggested the kind of developments King and Benton is pursuing could take the pressure off if properties like those are included in the mix.
"It creates a solution for the city and county," he said. "It says 'you don't have to make a decision tomorrow, but take some time to look at it all."'
Hancock isn't convinced talks can be put off.
I’m delighted Mr. Charest is developing that land, but I don't see that it changes anything about the urgency about getting together for talks," Hancock said Wednesday evening. "Our land is still going very rapidly.”
Hancock said he intends to keep an open mind and adopt a new approach to the talks, different from Frill's "all-or-nothing stance."
