10 March 2010

CP Station Purchase Still Awaits Approvals

The old CPR station in Owen Sound.

Owen Sound Ontario - The city's purchase of the derelict Canadian Pacific Railway station is still stuck in red tape.
 
CP Rail has requested another extension, this time to 26 May 2010, due to delays in obtaining federal government approval for the sale of the station.
 
City council approved the extension Monday.
 
The 1940s station, a nationally historic railroad site, was conditionally purchased by the city in January 2009. A month later, an environmental consultant confirmed the federally owned property is clean enough for commercial use and the building is structurally sound.
 
The final price the city paid for the east-harbour property will not be released until the deal is closed, city officials say.
 
The city has said it plans to offer the building for lease as a commercial business, with the intention of breathing new life into the city's harbourfront. It received funding from the province's Rural Economic Development program to help with the cost of renovating the building.
 
Denis Langlois.