PICTOU
Progress is being made in effort to bring new business to the Town of Pictou.
Coun. Malcolm Houser said Thursday that the province has officially turned the land around the new roundabout over to the town which means it can start development for prospective businesses.
The town recently reviewed its multiple requests for proposals for different parcels of land.
“We are very excited about the fact that we got multiple offers and some very interesting offers,” he said. “Some of it overlaps in lot usage so we have to sort through them to determine what is the best for the long-term basis.”
The town has been working on improving its main entrance since 2010 and conceptual drawings were recently completed that show the roundabout near the town’s soccer field.
The province has agreed to cost-share any upgrades by 50 per cent and the town is hoping that the sale of the property to a developer would cover the town’s share. The town had an agreement with the province in 2013 to take ownership of the land around the Pictou rotary.
The roundabout opened in September 2016 and land around it has been zoned highway commercial, which requires certain size requirements or specifications for businesses.
Such businesses would include automobile sales, bulk storage facilities, clinics, convention centres, daycares, department stores, motels, general retail and more. The minimum lot requirement is 3,048 m (squared) and there is a long list of requirements regarding parking, garden plots, landscaping, driveways and outdoor loading and display.
Houser said there has been interest expressed in all three of the lots, A, B and C near the roundabout. Lot D currently houses the Visitor Information Centre and the town has put a request in to the province to purchase that land.
“We are good to go on lots A, B, and C. We have the deeds from the province,” he said. “Next step we will go through an initial review of the RFPs and hold an in-camera session at council on Monday to determine what is our preferred route.”
He said the RFPs look well done but there are some questions still to be asked of each of the submitters.
“There are some answers missing or questions that need to be clarified so we will need to go back to the people that submitted them,” he said.
Houser would only say there are a variety of different businesses interested in setting up shop at the entrance of town.
“We are pleased,” he said. “The proposals that came in are all-year-round businesses and they will certainly attract traffic.”
He couldn’t say when ground would break on the land at the site because this is one of the questions the town will be asking prospective business owners.
