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APM awaits closing date of April 4 to get busy

Mar 20 2008

JIM BROWN

The walls of the former Holland College building on Granville Street are plastered with graffiti, and many view it as an eyesore in the community. APM must decide what it will do with the structure after the construction company acquires it April 4.

The Journal Pioneer

The CEO of APM says he paid the province approximately $630,000 for the former Holland College building and is prepared to spend anywhere from $300,000 to $900,000 or more on remedial work.

"We don't take possession until all the T's are crossed and the I's dotted," stressed Tim Banks, in a phone interview Tuesday from Portland, Maine.

If a big chunk of the building is levelled, the cost will rise toward the $900,000 threshold.

That's because of the extensive work needed to remove asbestos from the building's ceiling. If a large part of the building, including its roof can be salvaged, much smaller amounts of asbestos, such as the material around piping, will need to be removed, said Banks.

Many buildings on the Island - private, commercial and institutional - contain asbestos and aren't considered a health threat, he said.

Remedial work also includes removing an underground oil tank, said Tim Banks.

But in the meantime nothing can be done until the transfer is completed.

The former Holland College building came up during Monday's monthly meeting of Summerside City Council, in which a number of councillors slammed the boarded-up, graffiti-covered building.

Banks agrees the building's appearance doesn't look very attractive, but it's not his fault, he said.

"They should go to the owner."

The building, owned by the province, doesn't officially change hands until April 4.

Councillors wanted the property's new owner to take steps to re-develop the property, or at the very least to begin demolition of the structure.

There was uncertainty at the meeting whether Banks had taken possession.

Tim Banks said APM was the driving force behind several major developments in the area, including Wal-Mart, the Granville Street Plaza, the Super Store, the new Canadian Tire and Northgate Apartments.

"We revitalized the Granville Street Plaza. We deliver, that's our track record. When we invest we do something with it."

The 17.6-acre property has been subdivided for commercial and non-commercial use.

In an earlier interview Tim Banks stated APM's plan for the property included a 60,000-sq.-ft. building and another 5,500-sq.-ft. structure in the adjacent parking lot.

The plan also included, at one time, 200 townhouses, since scaled back in the first phase.


Media Contact: MediaReleases@apm.ca