The province plans to revoke a minister’s zoning order (MZO) that had been issued for a medical innovation park in Oro-Medonte Township.
The township supported a request for the MZO, which was granted Oct. 30, 2020. The plan was to create a 33-hectare development that would house various medical manufacturing facilities at 561 Line 7 N.
However, the property is now for sale, listed for more than $26 million.
“Since the landowner has decided to not build the medical innovation park and has instead put the land up for sale, the minister will initiate conversations with the Township of Oro-Medonte to commence the process of revoking the MZO,” said Zoë Knowles, communications director for Steve Clark, the province's minister of municipal affairs and housing.
“We have been clear that MZOs are a tool to accelerate critical local projects, like housing and health care, by cutting through red tape — and it is not a tool to be leveraged for real-estate speculation.”
The plan to revoke the MZO came as a surprise to David Yeaman, owner of the property and president of Molded Precision Components.
“That’s disturbing,” said Yeaman, who was not informed by the ministry of its intention.
The goal is to go ahead with the medical innovation park, he said.
“We have every intention of trying to move this forward," Yeaman said.
He put the land up for sale because “there’s a lot of challenges associated with the development of the property.
“We don’t have the finances available for the project. We need to find somebody who has the ability and the development expertise to move it forward. We’ve got to find the right partner," he added.
If that ideal buyer can’t be found, Yeaman said, “it’s just going to take a lot longer to come to fruition.”
Asked if advancing the original plan would be a condition of the sale, he said, “We have to assess things as they come.”
Oro-Medonte Mayor Harry Hughes said the township was aware the property was listed for sale.
“When the property went on the market, our staff jumped into action right away to try to get an understanding of what was going on,” he said. “For that property to sell for that amount of money seemed like it didn’t make sense.”
The current situation with the property is upsetting, he added.
“At the time, it was heralded by every level of government as being an important thing,” he said. “It’s disappointing all around.”
Yeaman stressed his company remains committed to the community, having operated in Oro-Medonte for 16 years, and he noted the business hired 185 people through the COVID-19 pandemic as it switched to developing a patented face shield.
He said he will be asking the minister’s office for a meeting.
