Work to be
done
APM awaits closing date of April 4 to get
busy
March
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.
