Who gets up to $1 million remains in contention after the demise of a potentially lucrative deal to develop 32 acres of public school board property.

The money, estimated to be somewhere between $500,000 and $1 million, remains in trust after a developer walked away from a deal to build commercial offices on a portion of the Britannia farmlands.

More than three years ago, the Peel District School Board approved leasing a parcel of the 200-acre property to Toronto-based developer Osmington Inc. The builder planned to build the offices adjacent to the board offices at Hwy. 10 and Matheson Blvd.

This 99-year lease agreement would have allowed the construction of an office complex with some retail space on the property fronting Hwy. 10. Osmington was expected pay the entire 99-year lease up front, generating millions of dollars in revenue for the board.

Osmington was seeking rezoning and construction approvals from the City of Mississauga to start work, but last May the company withdrew its applications and walked away from the project, Board Chair Janet McDougald said the board has been trying ever since to get an explanation for the abrupt and surprising about-face, but have so far been unable to get any meaningful response.

“We still haven’t got an adequate explanation from Osmington,” said McDougald. “I’m not sure that we’ll ever find out why they withdrew. They’re not talking to us.”

She revealed the school board and Osmington are now discussing the disbursement of several hundred thousand dollars put in trust as part of the deal. McDougald did not know the exact amount, but said it was between $500,000 and $1 million.

The board believes it is owed the money and Osmington thinks otherwise, she said.

“I think we’re the damaged party,” McDougald said. “It’s a point we have to clear up.”

As for the fate of the land, she said the board is moving forward with other possible options for preserving the property and still using a portion to generate revenue. However, she's “not at liberty to say” at this time what other options are currently being considered.

“We’re talking about all sorts of different things,” she said.

Farm may still yield cash crop

The Peel District School Board believes it's owed as much as $1 million after a developer walked away from a potentially lucrative deal that would have seen commercial office space built on 32 acres of the Board's Britannia farmlands property.

More than three years ago, the Board announced plans to transform a portion of the farmlands, adjacent to the Board's Hurontario St./Matheson Blvd. headquarters, into commercial office space. The Board approved leasing a parcel of the 200-acre property to Toronto-based developer Osmington Inc.

The 99-year lease agreement would have allowed for construction of an office complex with some retail space on the property fronting Hurontario St. Osmington was expected to pay the entire 99-year lease up front — generating millions of dollars in revenue for the Board.

Osmington was seeking rezoning and construction approvals from the City of Mississauga to begin putting shovels in the ground, but last May the company withdrew its applications and walked away from the project, Board chair Janet McDougald said the Board has been trying ever since to get an explanation for the abrupt and surprising about-face, but has so far been unable to get any meaningful response.

“We still haven’t got an adequate explanation from Osmington,” said McDougald. “I’m not sure that we’ll ever find out why they withdrew. They’re not talking to us.”

She revealed the Board and Osmington are now discussing the disbursement of hundreds of thousands of dollars put in trust with a lawyer as part of the deal. McDougald did not know the exact amount, but said it was between $500,000 and $1 million.

Carla Kisko, the Board’s associate director, described the funds as a “security deposit” provided by Osmington. She refused to divulge the amount.
The Board believes it is owed the money and Osmington thinks otherwise, McDougald said.

“I think we’re the damaged party,” McDougald added. “It’s a point we have to clear up.”

As for the fate of the land, she said the Board is moving forward with other possible options for preserving the property and still using a portion to generate revenue. However, McDougald was “not at liberty to say” what other options are being considered.

“We’re talking about all sorts of different things,” she said.

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