Georgina
November 05, 2008 08:07 PM
John Slykhuis
Georgina Mayor Rob Grossi is fed up with the continued construction delays on a new retail centre expected to include a Wal-Mart and Home Depot at the corner of Glenwoods and Woodbine avenues.
“We are totally frustrated,” he said. “The town has worked with every agency, the conservation authority, all of our departments to meet all of their concerns.
“We’ve given them site plan approval, we’ve done everything we can. We’ve expedited the process to help assist them and for whatever reason, it is them, not the Town of Georgina that’s causing delays.”
Last July, Carmine Nigro of development company Craft said construction would resume “in a month or two”, but there has been no activity on the site other than some landscaping and tree planting around the Glenwoods Creek extension.
The original reason given for the construction delayed was that excess water had to be squeezed out of the thick, soggy peat on the site by the many loads of fill dumped on the property last year.
When that process is complete, the fill would then be spread out over the rest of the site.
The extension of Dovedale Drive to Woodbine Avenue is also on hold until construction resumes.
Mr. Grossi has urged Craft to be up-front about what’s happening.
“Two months ago at a site plan meeting, we said someone from your company has got to tell the peple of this commuity why it’s taking so long.
“They said they would do that. They haven’t. They haven’t said anything.”
He will begin to look for other potential sites that may be suitable candidates for the big box retailers, Mr. Grossi added.
“What I’m going to do now is look for other suitors and see if there are other properties.
“The people of this community have to know we want the same kind of things they want related to the kinds of services we’ve seen built in Aurora in less of a time frame.
“Based on what they told me, we should have been cutting the ribbon in a month.”
Mr. Nigro could not be reached for comment.