Port Hope council voted unanimously on Tuesday night (February 15) to purchase 1,334 acres of land from Ontario Power Generation (OPG) in the Wesleyville area in Port Hope for $18.6 million. The municipality will take ownership of the land on March 31, 2022.
Part of the Williams Treaties area and territory of the Mississaugas, the property includes around 700 acres of environmentally important land, 600 acres that could potentially be developed, and 260 acres of developed industrial land. It also includes over 18 acres located along four kilometres of protected Lake Ontario shoreline, which represents 20 per cent of the entire waterfront of Port Hope.
“These lands open up so many opportunities for us as a community,” said Port Hope mayor Bob Sanderson, who initiated discussions with OPG about the property in 2019.
“First and foremost, we will be able to control how we grow and meet provincial growth targets,” Sanderson said. “We will also be able to achieve many of the goals we set for ourselves in terms of heritage, cultural, and environmental protection.”
The municipality will receive a $20 million low-interest loan through Infrastructure Ontario’s municipal financing programs to fund the land purchase which, along with other costs including land transfer tax, will total $19.2 million.
For the 260 acres of developed industrial land, OPG’s original intent was to develop a power generating station. However, the project was stopped in the late 1970s after some of the infrastructure and buildings were constructed — including one of the province’s largest smokestacks — but the facility was never made operational. Over time, that portion of the property was repurposed as leased industrial space for both OPG and private companies, including Bromley Fabricators Inc. and Peterborough Equipment Ltd.
VIDEO: Municipality of Port Hope – Wesleyville
Under the purchase agreement, OPG will lease the 260-acre developed industrial portion of the property from the municipality and will sub-lease to the current industrial tenants for the first seven years of the municipality’s ownership. Port Hope will receive $530,000 in annual lease payments from OPG and the other tenants on the site, as well as some tax revenue.
The 700 acres of environmentally important land could be available for parks, recreation, green space, and the protection of significant natural and cultural features, including heritage sites in Wesleyville Village. The 18 acres located along the Lake Ontario shoreline could be used for waterfront and riverwalk enhancement.
For the 634 acres that could be developed, options include residential, commercial, and employment lands. However, the municipality has no immediate plans or recommendations for how this portion of the property will be used.
Calling the land acquisition the first step of a long-term investment, the municipality says it will take decades to reach its full potential and expects to begin an extensive public consultation process in 2023.
“There is truly something for everyone here and I’m so pleased that council and staff are 100 per cent behind this incredible multi-generational opportunity that will benefit the community beyond any of our lifetimes,” Sanderson said.
More details about the Wesleyville land acquisition are available at porthope.ca/en/your-municipal-government/wesleyville.aspx.
