West-end land cost Ambassador Bridge company $2.4 million
A Windsor developer is questioning why the public was not allowed to bid on the sale of an old west-end high school recently grabbed up by the owners of the Ambassador Bridge.
Joseph Mikhail told CBC News he inquired several times about the vacant J.L. Forster High School on Felix Avenue, but his calls to the public school board were not returned.
The property was eventually bought by the Canadian Transit Company for $1.2 million in an unusual deal that saw it exchange hands twice on Dec. 22, according to land transfer documents.
Those records show the Greater Essex County District School Board sold the property to Progressive Waste Solutions, which in turn flipped it to the bridge company for just a $1 profit.
Mikhail was frustrated by the lack of response to his inquiries.
"They didn't return our calls," he said.
School district officials confirmed a couple potential buyers expressed interest in the Forster property, but none of those requests were considered because the land was never put on the market.
Citing privacy reasons, school district spokesman Scott Scantlebury would not provide details about why the land was not on the market, nor could he explain why Progressive was allowed to offer a bid.
West end struggles
No matter how the deal went down though, Mikhail said the west-end community loses out on a potentially significant revitalization project.
"It's a lost opportunity for the west end," he said. "I don't know how the west end can come back to life. I don't know how people will come back to live there without a school, without residences, without a community centre. There'snothing left over there."
The latest land grab expands the amount of property owned by Manuel (Matty) Moroun, who owns the Ambassador Bridge and has plans for a massive bridge expansion.
The City of Windsor has been in a lengthy legal battle because most of Moroun's property has been allowed to fall into disrepair.
The Canadian Transit Company plans to use the school's sports field for the bridge expansion. The building itself is expected to be donated to community organizations. But the west end needed much more than a community hub for its revitalization, according to Mikhail
His company, Mikhail Holdings, had preliminary plans to convert the school into a commercial centre that he hoped would then attract residents to the area.
The company has extensive experience in converting old, vacant properties into modern commercial centres. He led restoration of two Amherstburg properties, including the 70,000 square foot strip plaza in the town's downtown core that is now home to Sobey's.
"Most of our properties are from this type of development," he said.
http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/windsor/ambassador-bridge-forster-high-school