For those of you who missed the Ward 1 debate held by the Guelph Chamber of Commerce at the end of September (and who, like me, are miffed that you have to be a Rogers customer in order to watch it on the Rogers TV website), one of the questions candidates were asked was: What would you do about the Imico site?
Like everyone, I would like to see this brownfield redeveloped. I was the only candidate, however, that put my neck out and asked: is it time to be realistic about the odds of getting residential or commercial development on industrially contaminated land that was abandoned by a corporation and left for the City to deal with?
Consider this: the Woods Mill site on Arthur Street South was snapped up by a developer within months of the factory shutting its doors. With Imico, it's been 20 years and we still don't have a taker. The City has spent a considerable amount of money trying to find a buyer. Are we at the point where we need to accept that nobody wants to buy this property because of how much it would cost to clean it up? Isn't the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over again whilst hoping for a different outcome?
I've spoken to residents on Stevenson South, on Alice, on Palmer, on Kingsmill, and I've put it out there: is it time to cut our losses and turn this eyesore into green space? I'm hearing a yes.
