LAURIE WEIR
The Delta maple syrup factory is for sale.
The Township of Rideau Lakes is hoping someone will purchase the former syrup factory and canoe making shop that’s been vacant since the 1990s. If they can’t find a buyer, they plan to demolish it next year and pave it for extra parking.
During a meeting of the municipal services committee on Oct. 15, an environmental assessment of the former factory on Lower Beverley Lake Park Road revealed contamination concerns associated with the site’s past industrial operations. The property operated from 1941 until the 1980s as both a syrup factory and canoe manufacturer.
The report was presented by Laura Fitzgerald, project manager and team lead on-site assessment, risk and remediation with Cambium Inc., and Mark Beasy, senior risk assessor.
A two-phase environmental site assessment, conducted between July 2023 and May 2024, found issues related to fill material of unknown quality, coal-fired heating, metal fabrication, and gasoline storage. Soil and groundwater samples from the site indicated potential risks to human health and the environment, prompting a Screening Level Risk Assessment (SLRA) in July 2024.
Risk management options include capping the impacted soil with asphalt or fill and installing systems to prevent soil-vapour intrusion. However, residential, parkland and institutional use of the site remains restricted unless further studies are conducted. Options for the site include maintaining the current structure with ongoing monitoring or demolishing the building and replacing the soil cap.
Beasy said another option is to leave the site as it is. “Because there is already a parking area around the building, that existing area can be considered the hard cap. All that is left to do with that is to ensure the cap remains in good condition – so regular inspections and maintenance and repairs if necessary.”
If the building is to be demolished, Beasy said it could be replaced with another building or an extension of the hard cap.
The township has earmarked nearly $25,000 for the report by Cambium. The 10-year capital financing plan currently has $500,000 budgeted for 2025 for significant work to this building (repairs or demo). It will cost about $350,000 to demolish the building and turn it into a parking lot.
Mayor Arie Hoogenboom said the “poor people of Delta have put up with an eyesore long enough,” as councillors debated the fate of the factory.
Coun. Jeff Banks wanted to farm it out to real estate agents to see if there is interest in purchasing it.
The factory was on the market through a tax sale, which is how the township came to own it, according to the CAO Shellee Fournier.
Facilities and parks manager Stephen Holmes said they could put it on the market with a date to finalize the sale before moving to demolish.
Fournier said they’d need a fair market evaluation, and council would need to move into a closed session to put a price on the building.
After hearing that a Delta resident was interested in the factory, Coun. Sue Dunfield said she’d like to see it go on the market. “Let’s put a For Sale sign on the front of the building and see what happens,” she said.
Fournier said the township has put $432,099 into the property since obtaining it, which includes taxes, property standards, interest, professional fees, and building maintenance.
Coun. Paula Banks and Deputy Mayor Marcia Maxwell shared concerns about kids getting inside the building and the potential for liability if someone is hurt.
The committee voted unanimously to put the building on the market and to proceed with a cost for demolition in 2025. This will come back to a future council meeting for final approval.
