Welland in the News

Developer expects to ‘start moving dirt’ on Dain City subdivisions in spring

November 5, 2020

Developer expects to ‘start moving dirt’ on Dain City subdivisions in spring

image of a glass with ice

City of Welland general manager of infrastructure and development services Travers Fitzpatrick, left, Empire Communities president and CEO Daniel Guizzetti, Stephen Armstrong from Armstrong Planning and Project Management, Mayor Frank Campion, and acting CAO Steve Zorbas at city hall Wednesday. CITY OF WELLAND

A residential developer with plans to build close to 2,500 homes and contribute $10 million for a new Forks Road bridge is expecting 2021 to be a busy year.

Empire Communities signed a memorandum of understanding with the city Wednesday to support two subdivisions moving forward in Dain City – one on the eastern side of the south Welland area and another at the former John Deere lands.

President and chief executive officer Daniel Guizzetti said in an interview Wednesday that the Dain East development, consisting of a proposed 1,400 homes off Forks Road East between the Welland Canal and a rail line that borders the east side of the former John Deere property, will get started first.

“Mother Nature has already thrown us a little blast of snow, so it’s probably not going to be until the spring that we start moving dirt out there,” he said.

He expects the lands will be serviced and available for building permit applications by next December.

Empire Communities has committed to more than half the cost of a new Forks Road Bridge, which also includes a new roadway and urbanization of Forks Road, from the Kingsway to the east limit of Forks Road. The city has been securing government funding for a new Forks Road Bridge since its closure in 2018.

It’s estimated that the bridge could cost up to $17 million.

The city has $5 million in provincial and federal funding set aside for a new bridge.

‹   PREVIOUS   |   NEXT   ›