Staff
The demolition of the vacant Huffman School began Monday, kicking off the groundwork to have 16 new residential lots ready by this fall.
The school, which opened in 1955 and closed in 2010, will be knocked down and cleared away by July 1.
General contractor Wagner Construction Canada ULC, which hired Mike Carmody Contracting to demolish the school, then will rebuild Williams Avenue between Third and Fifth Street East before constructing Huffman Drive—the new cul-de-sac for the subdivision.
All of that work will be done by the first week in October.
Meanwhile, the town has adjusted and finalized prices for the 16 lots—six of which front Williams Avenue and 10 of which will front the future cul-de-sac being constructed off Fifth Street East.
The lots are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Prices range from $39,900 for the five smaller lots to $65,000 for the two largest ones.
The town said the lots will be fully serviced with water, sewer, power, and natural gas, as well as be building permit-ready, by this fall.
Curbing, gutters, and paving are proposed for next year, which is included in the current price.
The town is accepting a 10 percent deposit for the lots. Once the lots are completed this fall, the sale will be completed within 45 days.
The buyer then will have five building seasons to construct their new home.
The town has said it is trying to meet the need for affordable housing lots within the community through the new subdivision development.
There has been no new subdivision developments by the private sector since 1994.
In recent years, the town has become aware that numerous homes were constructed outside the municipal boundaries because of the lack of building lots in Fort Frances.
The town has said it is making a long-term investment in the community by being able to offer an array of lots for new housing.
This will help grow the tax base which, in turn, helps sustain all of the servicing the corporation currently offers the residents and makes Fort Frances a desirable place to live.
The “direct or indirect costs” of this project are not “millions of dollars,” as some residents have speculated.
In fact, the project is estimated at about $720,000, with all the costs to be recouped through lot sales.
For more information, contact municipal planner Faye Flatt at 274-5323 ext. 275 or via e-mail at fflatt@fort-frances.com
In other news, the town wants to correct recent claims that it did not undertake a suitable level of diligence when applying for a grant to reconstruct the sewer and water infrastructure on Second Street East and Mowat Avenue this summer.
A letter to the editor in the June 5 edition of the Times alleged the town was not eligible for funding because it already had awarded the contract for the job.
But the town has informed the Times this is incorrect. There is no condition in the application documentation that prohibits the awarding of a contract.
In fact, when compiling the funding application, it is prudent to be able to convey the true costs of the project being applied for.
This was reconfirmed to the town by the responsible ministry.
Prior to the formal application, the town was required to submit an Expression of Interest.
If the submission of the Expression of Interest indicated that the town was ineligible, the town would not have been invited to participate in the application process.
The town was competing with 128 other municipalities for a pool of $90 million in available funding. Other projects were deemed to be of a higher priority.
The town said it evaluates every grant program to identify funding allocations that it may be eligible for, with great time and care expended to ensure the best application possible is advanced on behalf of the community.
These undertakings are essential for the sustained financial viability of any community.
